The Vagrant Mystery Dungeons
by levelwhat
Summary: When friends and whole towns alike disappear, the ones who rise to investigate include a country bumpkin Chikorita and a human-turned-pokemon who pops out of a meteorite. [A PMD fanfic featuring numerous OCs and an expanded universe.]
1. Visitors from Another World

When the other pokemon in Paradise were asleep, Foliga would stay awake to gaze at the sky. Despite not actually knowing the names of many of the stars, or their various formations, her mysterious window to space was enough to amaze the grounded grass-type, regardless how many times she saw it. How the stars would always manage to look a little different to her, with each just a _touch_ out of place from where she remembered them being. And the moon, with its wondrous shapes and craters gliding effortlessly on the edges of her world...

Foliga would never see anything out of the ordinary, but if she did, it would also fall onto her to do something about it. Her home, little more than an underground den with a basement window, was built into a hill on the outskirts of the village It was otherwise the perfect place to survey most of Paradise.

But she didn't sit on her perch to watch the town, she wanted to watch the sky, even if nothing ever happened. The routine was less about lookout, but just to enjoy it . And after the laborious days spent in Paradise, the Chikorita headed straight to that spot. She waited until the sky shifted colors, orange to purple to navy, until the pokemon in the village put out their lights.

What immediately grabbed her attention tonight was what had to be the brightest star Foliga had ever seen, shining through the dusk and easily dwarfing the moon in terms of luminosity. It practically pulsed its own light, and only seemed to grow brighter. Had this star been there all her life, and she was just ignorant to it until this very moment? Was it some sort of celestial phenomena that occurred once every other century?

The Chikorita pounced onto all her limbs to get a better look. She gawked at it, mouth and eyes wide open and was sure to look foolish to anyone else that would have been there. Foliga imagined the star was calling out towards her, and she was trying to hear it speak. But when the star started to grow bigger, she put together what was _really_ happening:

 _That star, it's almost getting closer… That's not a star_ _at all, it's a meteoroid!_

The meteoroid acted like an artificial sun, lighting up the scene just for an instant. Everything, even the tiny Chikorita, gave off its own shadow, spinning circles around their caster as if in a timelapse. And abruptly as it arrived, Paradise went back into darkness as the meteorite sped past Foliga and over the forest, before descending into the far off mountain range with a bombastic _crash!_

Foliga never looked away. She squinted her eyes, trying to watch the meteorite as much her vision would allow before the blinding light. In the late hour, no other pokemon would be awake to see it, and perhaps she was the sole witness to where the meteorite landed. So, it stood to her that she may have been the only one to see the meteoroid break apart. While the majority of it probably had landed in the nearby Copper Carvings, Foliga could have been the only one to know that a tiny piece of it had landed in the woods practically in her backyard.

Foliga would not let it wait until morning, and she was _definitely_ not tired anymore. With a newfound energy, she raced off into the edge of the forest, deftly darting between shrubs and trees, jumping over fallen logs and pitfalls. Foliga did not need to keep track of where she was going, instead only with a general sense of direction which way _home_ was. She knew Paradise Village and its surrounding areas like the back of her leaf, living there longer than any memory that she might have. A life's worth of guiding pokemon and locating lost items with vague landmarks was finally starting to show some _use._

Her momentum was stopped short when she finally reached the wreckage the meteorite caused. Soft dirt was kicked up which lead to a dark, smoldering mass. The sizeable trees in its wake were splintered to pieces easily like toothpicks. She knew it was only a broken off bit of a bigger mystery, her imagination led her to believe it was much bigger than it really was; in reality, the chunk of the meteorite was no bigger than herself, and she could haul it back home with reasonable effort.

Surprisingly, the meteorite was not even hot. The smoke rising from the wreckage must have not been smoke at all, but something else entirely. _Maybe it's steam,_ she guessed, _or some other gas?_ Regardless, Foliga could touch it with her leaf and not get burned. Even more surprising was how brittle the stone was, which crumbled under her touch. The Chikorita reeled her leaf away from the rock, only in fear she had somehow destroyed it. But the meteorite never stopped and just kept deteriorating upon itself…

 _No, no no no!_ The rock kept falling to pieces. She tried to mold it back together in a desparate attempt to retain its shape, but all her efforts were in vain, as the tiny meteorite was eroded to nothing but a pile of ash. Her mind was blank. she could only stand there, toes deep in the ashes of when she wanted an outstanding discovery.

In hindsight, Foliga didn't know what she was initially expecting. _How did I let this fill me with so many expectations?_ The other locals were surely to check the crash site as soon as the next day and would think nothing much of it. To her, she had made a bargain with the fallen star, exchanging her hopes for whatever riches it carried. Foliga was ready to turn away.

And at that very moment, the moon and the night sky shifted. Something maybe _wanted_ her to find this meteorite. Clouds moved past the moon's gaze, illuminating the wreckage in a faint light. The pile of ash still stayed pitch black, but now against the moonlight shone a ray of marvelous color. It was enough to catch her attention once more and she turned again to re-evaluate the meteorite. This time, she used her leaf to excavate more purposefully than the mad scrambling she had done before.

Buried at the core of the meteorite was a single jewel. It was round and fairly small, even compared to the size of the Chikorita. Its iridescence reminded Foliga of the wonder orbs that some explorers would carry, but this one was distinctly _orange_ in color than the usual blue she was used to seeing. If no one knew better, it could have passed inspection as some augmented ore. But the orange jewel put some type of pressure that clouded her thought. Like it commanded an aura, the type that had to mean _power._

Foliga could not deny the glint of ambition in her eyes. She held up the orange jewel to the night sky, appraising it as it perfectly reflected the sea of stars above.

A jewel like hers must always be _worth_ something, especially if she could find the right pokemon to show it to. And as she was later curled in her bed, back in the darkness of her home, she began to form a plan.

"I'll find the rest of that meteorite," Foliga said aloud to herself, "I'll find a way into the Copper Carvings. But that place is way too dangerous, no one would even let me through the gate. I'll need help." She knew exactly whose assistance she would need, too. Maybe not for the expedition, but just to get her started. "But getting him on board is easier said than done…"

Foliga opted to figure out the rest in the morning. She needed the rest and did every trick she knew into settling down for the night. But the tiny grass-type was too excited to fall asleep at any reasonable time.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: Visitors from Another World**_

* * *

"So just for my sake, please explain this to me like you would to the Superior." But Foliga knew better than to believe that Septime was paying attention.

She was walking right on the Servine's heels down the pasture road, each toting their respective bags, with his tail dangerously close to smacking the Chikorita in the face. It would not surprise her if he would take the opportunity to do so on purpose. That was the price of catching him so early in the morning.

Since she could remember, Foliga knew Septime did not share the same sentimentality over their social work as she did. And it came to the Servine's chagrin that, at his second evolutionary stage, more responsibility was placed on him, by none other than the Superior, his _father_. It was all too easily noticeable with only a glance, how noncommittal he looked and carried himself with disdain for everything he was likely told to do. Or how empty and light his toolbag looked compared to hers, which threatened to spill important papers everywhere. And the meteorite's jewel.

She ignored his reluctance and carried on with her explanation. "So it started out like most nights, where I was outside my house. Then the whole sky lit up and this thing shot right above the whole town! It was like a second and tiny little sun." Foliga could hear her own words blending together, trying to keep up with the recollection. "And it was so close to hitting Paradise. Like it was trying to make a crash landing somewhere safe! I'm positive it landed somewhere in the Copper Carvings!"

"…You can't actually explain it like that to the Superior."

"Oh, Septime," Foliga said dreamily, "it was really something you had to experience… I feel _changed_. This one thing made the rest of those empty nights on the hill worth it to me."

"Wowie." She could hear just by his voice the Servine rolling his eyes. "I guess I should stay up for the next one."

"I'm serious about this! And you know, you're always welcome to join me." Part of Foliga was actually genuine about the offer, but she knew it was meant more as a courtesy.

"Hmm. I'll have to sleep on it."

Foliga let herself enjoy the ambient green meadows around her. Both grass-types continued down by the perfectly cultivated fields, complete with a undamaged picket fence. How someone must have labored for such perfection! Not many mornings earlier marked the turn of the season, and the village bloomed in beauty befitting its name _Paradise_. The sky was a bit bluer, hills were more greener, the air felt crisper, and every pokemon seemed livelier and more dutiful than before.

But Septime never seemed to feel the same tug of work as she did. "So, did you actually want something from me? Or did you plan on awkwardly following my tail all day?"

Foliga galloped forwards to walk side-by-side with him. "I need your help. We should go into the Copper Canyon to find that meteorite and bring it back into town! It'll be a simple matter of finding your friends—"

"Stop right there." And she did. The two stopped traveling down the path, with the Chikorita looking up at the taller grass-type for an answer. "No. It's not happening. I don't need to know anything else. I'm not being apart of anymore of your plans." He promptly stomped away without her.

 _How very… not like him._ She shook the confusion out of her head. Then adjusted the strap on her bag, and rushed after him. "What's the matter? You usually like being part of my huge proposals. Is everything alright?"

"…Really? Do you _really_ need to ask me that?" he hissed. "Your 'proposals' have a very high chance of blowing up. In my face. Literally!"

Foliga blinked. "You haven't forgiven the Flitwick family? That wasn't since last spring." _That_ whole ordeal was a mess, right from the beginning. It was supposed to be an inauguration for the Flitwick and their many fire-type relatives into Paradise, but the night quickly turned into disaster when someone tried a ritualistic fiery dance using oriental candles. Foliga's memory brought the blazing aftermath of the scene, and suddenly, the soft spring wind on her back turned uncomfortably heated.

"Yes I'm still— they blew up my house! I now live in a house with only _five_ rooms!" The more he went on, the more frustrated Septime seemed to grow. "And the candles that those Flitwick used costed a fortune, plus all the labor that I had to find to clean up… Then the Superior yells at _me_ at the end of it all! I took the blame that was meant for _you_."

"I don't remember any candles."

"Yes there were! But that's beside the point. I'm always taking the one taking the fall."

It took almost all the sun's energy to keep the Chikorita from snapping back. But in a quiet voice, Foliga said, "Only because you presented it to your dad like it was your idea. I planned with other 'mons before you turned it over to yourself and your cronies."

 _Smack!_ And there it was. The Servine whipped around so fast that his tail smeared across Foliga's face. She could not pull back in time, and while the action did not actually hurt, it did wound her dignity. "Hey—!"

"I've learned my lesson the hard way," Septime said, completely ignoring what he did. "I won't be the one to _enable_ you. You do a good enough job screwing up on your own."

By then, the two had reached the center of Paradise Village. It was the only area where the dirt roads were replaced by a neatly kept and patterned brick pavement, tended to by social workers like herself. It was also the only place that held a dedicated marketplace, which required the pokemon in Paradise to wheel in their goods on carts or caravans across the hills each day and back.

At this early in the morning, however, the Paradise center was only filled by a handful of social workers like Septime and herself. Pokemon of all sorts of shapes crowded one of two bulletin boards on either side of the center square. Whether it was the tiny Joltik that climbed the side of the post, or the Pidove perched on top of it, each hastily accepted whatever job they could find; the Superior never tolerated unproductivity in his town, and even the children of the smallest families were expected to loan their labor. Which put herself into a fragile situation, being only a family of one.

And she was about to try again, but Septime hushed her. "Lemme deal with this crowd."

He messed with his bag, taking out a stack of letters, and dove into the crowd. "Hey! Outta the way!" Like magic, every pokemon there did as he asked. Septime still callously shoved his way through, and put an aggressive emphasis into posting each letter onto the bulletin board. Most of them were _way_ too high for any of the smaller pokemon to see, but no one would challenge the Servine in fear of the consequences.

When he was finished, Foliga waited for him patiently by the edge of the crowd. "You're still here? Take a hint, Foliga. I'm done talking about this. Go pick a job today and leave me alone."

"Septime, please keep hearing me out," she called out to him patiently. _How else could I possibly sell this to him?_ "Okay, just think about the benefits! This could bring a good reputation to not just you, but all of Paradise. 'Mon would come from all over to take a look at a meteorite! Doesn't that sound like something you want?"

That made Septime pause, and he actually seemed to consider it. "Hmm. That I actually like. But the Superior wouldn't agree. He's displeased with the idea of Paradise ever getting traffic, though I can hardly imagine why. This _trash town_ could really use some traction from the outside world."

Foliga nodded to herself. While not sharing his _exact_ choice of words, she could share the sentiment. The Chikorita could count more buds around her neck than the number of outsiders that she had seen wandering through Paradise, and that was higher than the totaly that actually decided to settle in Paradise. But she _never_ minded. The breeds of pokemon that came through were nothing like the ones that she knew of. She knew quite a few names of species, but even that knowledge was scarcely limited to only the village's population.

"And so if we get that meteorite," Foliga told Septime, "We'll have 'mons visit the village! And if we get 'mons to visit the village… We can make them _pay_ to see it."

Septime smirked. "Now that does sounds like my kind of plan. Come back when you have a real development." But once again he started making his way down the brick road and away.

"Wait!" Foliga quickly bounded up and stopped right in front of him. _Why is he being so difficult?_ Foliga faced the taller grass-type one last time. It was interesting how much a _single_ evolution could put such a difference in height. "You don't even have to be apart of it. Can't you just get The Superior to speak with me? He's your father _,_ after all. It can't be that hard to ask your _dad_ for a favor."

"The _Superior,"_ Septime felt he needed to correct, "Is a very busy 'mon. As am I. It'll be a world of a favor, and I don't want to be involved with this…"

But then, the Servine seemed to realize something, and he turned a very sly smile. " But I don't do charity work. So how about a favor for a favor?"

Foliga closed her eyes and took a _very_ deep breath. She would definitely need to sunbathe later for the energy. _He couldn't ask for anything too outlandish,_ she thought, _or could he? Septime gets whole a bunch of 'mon to do other stuff for him, so…_ "Okay, Septime. What kind of favor are you looking for?"

The Servine looked more smug than ever. It would not be like him to bounce in glee, but he was sure close to doing it. "Oh, is this it?" He laughed triumphantly. "Am I gonna get the perfect lil' Foliga beckoning to my whims? The guys'll get a kick out of this!"

The Chikorita tried to look as patient as she could muster, staring blankly. Septime just laughed even more.

"Ooh, just look at you! I gotta call the others over!" He turned back to the bulletin boards, where two of his goons were loafing around in the shade. "Bulk! Gina! Get over here!" Soon enough, the Gothitelle and Throh were into a tight group with Septime and _all three_ were now laughing at her.

"And she was so stuck up thinking she was so goody," sneered Gina the Gothitelle. "That look just screams, 'I'm stupid and finally coming to terms with it!'"

Bulk the Throh had to think hard about what he wanted to say. "So, Septime, what are you gonna make her do?"

"That's the hard part though. What do you guys think I should make her do?

"You could make her check on that crazy-weird Liligant couple!"

"Make her give you poké."

"Have her fess up as the poffin thief?"

"No, I don't think anyone would buy that…"

The Servine finally slapped his hands together. He collected three letters together, one from the Gothitelle and the Throh and himself. Then he tossed them to Foliga's feet. "You're gonna do all three of our jobs for us today. And then, _and only then_ , will I consider the possibility of letting you talk to the Superior. Right? Okay? Deal?"

"Right. Okay. Deal." Foliga repeated flatly.

"Alright _,_ now," Septime closed mockingly slow with. "Also, don't tell anyone, that'll break the deal."

"Sure thing."

"Also? Don't forget to do your own job today. We wouldn't want you getting kicked from Paradise, after all!"

With that, Foliga thanked Septime for his time, and walked quietly away from the trio of pokemon. The Chikorita's mind was blank, and the only thing she could focus on walking fast without looking like she was running away. Down the road would be a day's worth of work to occupy her thoughts. There was still duties to be done and could not be bothered to be distracted.

Foliga made sure she was far away from those three, far enough down the road where there was only rolling pastures and the breeze, until she opened the first job letter. _A request from a berry grower, needing quick and immediate help organizing stock from the season prior? Seems easy enough._ The fruiterer was Sawsbuck, and in the spring as it currently was, he was the target of all sorts of teasing from Paradise's children for the delicate flowers growing on his horns.

"I don't think they're at all unnatural," Foliga encouraged him. "I don't think they're even that bad looking! You just need to decide for _yourself_ if you think it looks good or not."

Sawsbuck tossed his head side to side, raining down more pink petals. "I'm no child who needs to stand up to bullies in school. If I see any more trouble from them, I will just find those kids' _parents_." He looked towards the distant pack of Pawniard, then back at Foliga, and ushered her to keep sorting. "Though I appreciate the concern. I can guess only the things you've been told about _your_ appearance, Chikorita _._ "

 _Appearance?_ she wondered. _What is it about the way I look?_ Putting aside whatever it was supposed to mean, Foliga asked, "Should I sweep up these flowers before I go?"

She did end up sweeping the flowers away, utilizing her leaf like a broom. It was not even past noon when she walked outside Sawsbuck's house, done sorting through over six carts of berries. For a job he considered adequately done, Sawsbuck allowed her to depart with one of the bruised oran berries that would neither sell or be planted. Foliga ate it contently as she walked down the road and away from the bigger grass-type's house.

Foliga tucked the remaining bit of oran berry back into the bag around her side… and then pulled out her jewel from the meteorite. It seemed even brighter held up against the daylight, a candy-ish orange. But it also glinted an array of color that seemed to swirl around from within. Foliga could see a tiny Foliga looking back at her from within the tiny jewel.

"Hello," she said to her reflection.

That _pressure_ , same as the night before, fogged her consciousness, muting her senses. It was two hands pressing on each side of her mind, cupping it with the strength to hold her in place. But it was never enough to make Foliga reel back in any pain or even discomfort, the jewel was simply _there_ , and didn't want to hurt her, just wanted to announce its presence, like it was just trying to say, _hello…_

Foliga deposited the jewel back into her toolbag and out of sight. The fog dissolved from her mind instantly. The Chikorita was left standing in Paradise Village, and she could now feel again. The warm spring air brushing against her. The dirt road was dusty but solid under her toes. And it was still midday. Whatever corner of her mind Foliga was in, she was now back.

 _What was_ _that_ _?_ She looked down into her bag, much more careful and aware of the jewel than before. _Just what did I feel in my head? Will there be more gems just like this one in the Copper Carvings? I bet some 'mon out there would love to get their hands on this thing to find out what it can do._ All she was doing was pondering questions she did not have the means to answer. Not until she reached the meteorite.

Shaking her head of the line of thought, Foliga rummaged through her toolbox once again for another one of Septime and his goons' job letters. The second one was much less descriptive about its job than the first. It could have been a gag letter, but she quickly saw who the client was. _It's from ol' miss Leavanny. And she says she has a monster in her backyard. I think. This is really hard to read, with the handwriting and the paper she used… It wouldn't hurt to check in on her._

The Chikorita proceeded to make her way across Paradise Village, not bothering to stay on the main roads, but the smaller scenic paths she knew by they had those white picket fences too! The wind was on Foliga's back, pushing her and the clouds together in the same direction. Hopefully, it would be perfect like this when she went to the Copper Carvings.

By the early afternoon, she had reached her client's home, sitting on the edge of a wood tucked away in a corner of Paradise. It was a basic and very old hut, fashioned by clay but nonetheless a grass-type home by its leafy roof and paneless windows. Foliga did not bother looking into the house, but instead circling it and approaching the edge of the forest.

"Missus Leavanny!" Foliga announced into the woods. "It's me, Foliga the Chikorita! I'm here on behalf of the job request you left us for the bulletin board?"

"Oh, Chikorita!" a voice by the forest line called out to her. "Sweetie, could do me a favor?" As Foliga had anticipated, out of the forest came an aging Leavanny. She held onto wrinkled and yellowing leaves, comparable to the ones Foliga was used to seeing on younger species of the same pokemon, but nonetheless befitting her age.

The youthful grass-type minded the volume of her voice as she addressed her elder much closer. "Good afternoon, Missus Leavanny. May I help you with something?"

"Oh, Chikorita! I am so relieved to see even any one of you." Missus Leavanny sounded more worried over finding someone to tell than what actually bothered her. "It started like how I usually do every new spring. I like to weave new clothes for me and my grandchildren, you see. I go into these woods and find the most nicest materials for my designs, and I take those leaves home with me. And I make them there! Then I make more clothes with any leaves I have left and sell them at the marketplace. But you must know that already, don't you? Have you seen my shop in center square?"

The Chikorita nodded patiently. "I have. Did something _happen_?"

"So, I was gathering in the woods, I was. Minding my own business. I certainly wasn't expecting to meet anyone out there, but I suppose we would have something to talk about, wouldn't we? That's how I met my husband, that charming Whimiscott… Ah, now I'm getting off topic, aren't I? Terribly sorry about that." She laughed at her digression. But her face dropped into seriousness. "In those very woods, I found a monster."

"You think you saw a monster?" Foliga said bashfully. "I'm sorry, Missus Leavanny, but are you sure you didn't see a trick of the light, or an oddly grown tree?"

The elderly pokemon shook one leafy appendage matter-of-factly. "I've been going into these woods for over twenty-five years. I know more nooks and crannies of that forest than the names of my own grandchildren across this continent!"

"And there's no possibility that you didn't just see another 'mon in those woods?" she further quizzed.

"No pokemon I've ever ever seen before, dear."

 _And there we go._ The chance that a traveling pokemon got lost in the woods was more likely than any sort of actual monster existing. Missus Leavanny probably knew just as well, but waited for Foliga, or really anyone, to confront the mysterious pokemon in the forest instead.

"Alright, Missus Leavanny, I'll take a look to see what kind of monster it is." The Chikorita announced as she brushed past the older pokemon. _I don't know these woods like the ones by my own house, but_ … "I think I can find the way on my own, so you need to accompany me."

"Truly? Thank you so much, Chikorita girl. I wish you the best of luck!"

Leavanny's voice was already disappearing as the small grass-type treaded carefully through the unfamiliar and uneven landscape. Her four legs were truly better than two as some pokemon were stuck with, making it easier to slide down or climb up the terrain. These woods also had a less of a canopy of trees than the one near her house. She used her leaf to shield her eyes from the sun, the sky barren of any clouds.

The land became more even as Foliga trotted deeper into the wilderness. The trees were looking much more massive with many branches, perfect for any avian pokemon to perch. Upturned roots were big enough to crawl under for the tiny pokemon. The dirt beneath her turned soft and the Chikorita's toes sunk a touch into the ground with each step. The grass became thinner and taller, threatening Foliga's eyesight as she ventured forward.

 _Perfect for any 'mon to hide in,_ she realized. _Wait, what if something's hiding in the trees? What if I'm too far in, and I'm way past It? …I should've definitely asked Leavanny for a description._

Moving faster, Foliga tried to retrace her steps, but was hopeless; the trees and grass were looking all the _same_. Everything from the leaves and stalks, or brown from the branches and bark. It was dead quiet.

Then came the rustling of grass. Now she was getting scared.

Not moving a muscle, Foliga's eyes scanned through the grass, wanting desperately to find the source of the noise. She peeled her head leaf back to look skyward. Nothing there. Just the trees.

The rustling of grass continued, but guessing where _exactly_ it was coming from was impossible for her. She lightheartedly blamed Septime for putting her through this.

"Is someone there?" She called out tentatively. Her eyes never blinked. Like with the meteorite, she did not want to miss a thing.

Now, there was more than just scampering, as it seemed it was moving fast through the tall grass. She wouldn't take any more chances. She knew someone, _something,_ was nearby. And she may need to fight it.

Her favorite move was unwieldy, but perfect as an opening attack on the unsuspecting. Thanks to days spent lounging in the sun, Foliga called out to every ounce of power in her body, buds and leaf and all. It filled her with a newfound energy, one she had to close her eyes in concentration, to not let out too soon.

"If someone is out there," she cried one last time, "you better say so!"

And out of the grass, with a giant _thump,_ was a behemoth of a pokemon Foliga had never seen before. It stood on two legs, lined in white fur on its face and black on its limbs. It was content of chewing on some sort of weed in its tiny snout, but its _face_ — This pokemon was angry, and Foliga knew it wanted to unleash its rage on her.

 _That looks like a monster if I ever saw one!_

Foliga released the solarbeam. It shot slowly but could feel the tradeoff for raw power _._ The beam connected cleanly into the behemoth pokemon's chest, and despite its size, started to skid _backwards_ from the force. Foliga kept the beam up for quite a few seconds longer, until there was no more left in her, and the beam subsided. She watched until the enemy pokemon finally fell backwards.

She fell to the ground, tired. The attack left the grass-type heaving, and she knew that she didn't have enough for another one anytime soon… And then the daunting pokemon stood right back up, with only a scorch mark on its belly but otherwise unscathed. Still _very_ angry.

Now was the perfect time time to worry.

She scrambled for her bag and ran— at least Foliga tried to run, but she was still gasping for air. The Chikorita heaved herself up, using her leaf as a makeshift crutch. But her escape speed was little more than a limp, and she had no energy left in her to go any faster.

Her foe took its leisure in moving slowly but menacingly after her, enjoying the inevitable outcome of finally catching up to its tinier prey.

 _Please, just not like this,_ Foliga thought somewhere distantly. _Not to be mauled by some wild 'mon, to have ol' Leavanny suddenly find me one day. Not when I haven't found that meteorite yet—!_

Then, something grabbed onto the strap of her bag, tugging it up. Foliga eventually came along with it, and then she was suspended into the air, the strap the only thing keeping her from crashing down. She realized she was being carried away from the massive pokemon, which roared in frustration from losing its opponent.

Foliga was carried onto a branch on one of the huge trees, and was dropped, her toolbag landing on her back. Whatever pokemon carried her landed on the same branch next to her.

"Many interesting discoveries today," an unknown voice said from above her. It lacked any infliction but still distinctly female. "The fact that a village like Paradise exists at all. Then there's a Chikorita living in this village… Who went looking for a Pangoro that strayed quite a distance away from its mystery dungeon."

Foliga looked to see another pokemon, one she had never seen before in Paradise. It was avian and had gray colored metal covering its entire body. It looked sharp in the way its wings folded into its body, and the tail feathers it traded instead for tail _blades._ The eyes of the pokemon were calculating, predatorial. In edition to height, it absolutely towered ever Foliga in a way different from the one earlier, craning its long neck to loom over her. The only item it carried was a badge of some sort pinned somehow to its front.

The Chikorita simply gawked at the new pokemon.

"You were heavier to carry than I anticipated," said the metallic pokemon, unfazed by her staring. "What do you carry in that bag?"

"Uh, um," she stammered. "Papers. Maybe just one or two books— oh, thank you very much! I thought I was a goner for sure!" She turned in glee at the newcomer. "But, I'm not sure what to call you. I'm Foliga. Foliga the Chikorita."

"Ringer the Skarmory." Ringer blinked, and she looked back down at what was called a Pangoro, sizing up the situation. "Proper introductions can be done later. We must defeat this Pangoro. What techniques do you know? Do you have anything potentially useful in your bag?"

Foliga looked down at the Pangoro also, which was failing at toppling their tree. "I can fire razor-edged leaves. And I know how to heal wounds. I can't shoot anymore beams of light, that one I did earlier took everything I had. But I'll do anything else I can to help!" She looked over at Ringer, who did not seem to share her vote of enthusiasm. Foliga instead put her bag down and showed its contents. "Besides the bunch of documents, I also have… A half-eaten oran berry." She laughed, but it came out terse over the sound of the Pangoro's roars.

Ringer nodded to herself. "Alright then. Here's what we do. Hold onto the oran berry, and I'll finish it if I need to take any major attacks from the Pangoro. You'll stay up in this tree and attack from a distance with your leaves. Understood?"

"Okay!" Foliga could feel herself getting pumped up, trying to work away her fatigue. Two against one were much better odds.

The Skarmory jumped from the tree, and took to circling the Pangoro from high above. She kept a careful distance to avoid any swipes made at her. Ringer quickly made bouts to claw at the Pangoro's face with her talons, and would retreat as quickly to try again when the feral pokemon would try to grab her, always to no avail. She was slippery in her aerial maneuvers, like she could command the wind under her wings to move her where she was safe.

"Hey! up here!" Foliga called for the Pangoro's attention. She spun the leaf on her head and unleashed a whole group of lethally sharp leaves, all the same size as the one on her head. Most connected, or scraped right past the huge pokemon. It roared once again, and turned its attention to her, being the nuisance in the tree—

And with its back turned to her, Ringer powered a new move, focused on the edges of her wings, each glowing in a white-hot light. The Skarmory screeched and dived low, traveling _under_ the Pangoro's legs, with each wing slicing deep into the inner calves of the behemoth.

"Nice!" Foliga cheered. _Wow, Ringer is really good at this, at least ten times better than I am…_

The Pangoro fell to its knees and hands from the attack. It roared once more, the most weakest one, before succumbing to its injuries and landing flat on its belly. The forest fell into silence from the finished battle.

Foliga peered over the huge branch. "Did we do it? Is it safe for me to come down?"

"No. Stay up there." Ringer didn't land on the ground just yet. Instead hovered in the air above the fallen Pangoro, ready for any retaliatory strike. It felt like forever to Foliga, even when she knew that the more experienced of the two was staying careful against a large opponent.

And after a moment later, Ringer landed, saying, "It seems we've won. Now it should eventually disappear on its own—"

 _Smack!_ Ringer crash landed a distance away from both Foliga and the Pangoro. Robbed of the use of its legs, the Pangoro was now crawling over to the other fallen pokemon to finish the job, closing the gap quickly due to its massive size.

"No!" _It was just pretending?!_ Foliga frantically panicked and looked at the small oran berry next to her, then at the fallen Skarmory, back at the berry, then at Ringer again— _The plan, it's useless! I could never get this to her in time! I could try to heal her from this distance, but I don't have that much in me, and if I'd miss… Or worse, if I end up healing the_ _Pangoro_ _instead..!_

So she was left with no other choice. Her place on the tree was a high enough vantage point, and Foliga could use any extra power from the breaks of shade in the forest canopy she could get. The Chikorita's technique begun just like her first one, where she was mustering every ounce of energy in her body that she could spare, but _repurposing_ it, so it wouldn't come out as an attack. The buds on her neck produced small, pink tufts of spores that hovered around her.

Then, she let the spores free. They drifted down from the tree, right over the Pangoro's body, and landed successfully onto the unconscious Ringer. When the spores touched the Skarmory's, they dissolved into her, seeping past her metal plating, leaving a faint pink glow. It was a sign that the spores were doing their jobs correctly by entering the patient's body and doing whatever it could to heal whatever they could and rejuvenate the recipient.

Foliga fell over, tired but successful. The Pangoro crawled ever closer to Ringer, who was already starting to stir awake. "Ringer!" It was difficult to even shout. In her strained breaths, the Chikorita used her leaf as a crutch to prop herself. "Wake up!"

Finally _,_ Ringer raised her eyes, and she blinked a few times like she was waking from a nightmare. Her stare turned intense as Foliga would imagine for someone to wake up in the middle of a battle. And at the sight of the bloodthirsty Pangoro still crawling towards her. With a groan of effort, the Skarmory effortlessly took to the sky, unburdened by any pains she might have had before Foliga healed her. She hovered in the air, now impossible for the enemy to reach her with its injured legs.

She began to flap her wings in long, powerful strokes, and pushed a current of wind to both the Pangoro's direction. As well as _Foliga's._ Ringer continued this, and with each one, the winds began to push _harder_ , and _faster,_ building up into itself. Foliga dug her toes into the huge tree to hold on, and the Pangoro did the same with two handfuls of grass in each hand. Then the leaves and tall weeds were rustling in the wind, and it was impossible to hear anything besides the torrent of wind—

The Pangoro roared in pain, seemingly for no reason. Foliga struggled to look down, and saw large streaks of cuts were forming on its body by some sort of unseeable blade. The tall grass was getting cut also, as was tiny branches trimmed in the same fashion.

 _Ringer is doing this!_ Foliga realized. _She's somehow turning the gales she makes razor-sharp, and—_

 _Snap! Cre-e-ak!_ Foliga fell to her side, beginning to slide down and off the branch. She looked to the base of the huge branch, where it attached to the tree, or where it was _supposed_ to be attached. Huge gashes into the branch formed deeper with every passing moment, splintering wood under the loss of support.

"Ringer, stop!" she shouted the best she could. "You're sawing my branch off the tree— AAAHH!"

The branch finally gave away, and then Foliga was in free-fall. Gravity was lost to her while caught in the Skarmory's wind and simultaneously pushed backwards. Her bag was lost in the motion and it flew away, spilling its contents and raining papers into the forest. Foliga herself hit the earth with a painful _thump!_ before rolling to a complete stop.

When Ringer finally ended her attack, the forest stilled into silence. Foliga could only hear the Skarmory's rhythmic flaps of her wings as she presumably looked at the aftermath of the battle. Tiny leaves, twigs, and even papers from her own bag gently touched down onto the forest floor. The afternoon sun was now visible; Ringer's technique had carved a hole in the forest's canopy, lighting up the three pokemon and their surroundings like under a spotlight.

Foliga laid on her side for quite some time just to gather her bearings. One of her own papers eventually fluttered down perfectly onto her face. It was too close to read out which document it was.

Ringer glided low to the ground over to her, and gingerly picked up the paper with her beak, then helped the Chikorita into standing. "I didn't mean to injure you. I apologize."

"It's quite all right!" Foliga laughed off the pain she did have. " _You_ never really hurt me. It was just the awkward fall, that was really all that I feel right now. Whatever it took to take down that crazy 'mon!" The Pangoro, she now remembered, was somewhere behind her on the other side of the huge branch, which could have been the size of a tree all on its own. "Speaking of which, is it really..?"

"Yes. It should definitely be defeated by now. But the question that must be brought up, is if we are at risk of another one to crawl from somewhere. You would know more about that than I would."

"Me?" Foliga said, puzzled. "I don't quite understand what you mean."

"If there happens to be…" Ringer's question fell flat, and she shook her head. "Nevermind. It's a unique concept. Alternatively, how about the Copper Carvings? Would you know if Pangoro are common there?"

She shook her head to answer. "No 'mon like it even in there. Even if it did, someone would have seen it come out of the entrance who would've done something."

"Hmm. I see. In whatever case, there's not much to look into now." The Skarmory bowed gratefully to the smaller pokemon. Foliga could not help but to do a tiny bow back. "Thank you for your assistance against the Pangoro. Allow me to help you gather your belongings."

"Oh, my papers!" Foliga exclaimed. "I almost forgot in all this action. Thank you!"

And so, each went on their way to collect the small papers and other trinkets that were scattered across the forest. Some were stuck in trees, which made Ringer useful to have when she would just fly and pick them out of the branches, being careful to not tear or poke holes into. Ringer then would lay a mouthful onto the ground for Foliga to later collect. Meanwhile, Foliga herself hunted for papers that had landed on the ground, collecting them into her bag. She felt uncharacteristically lighter than usual, and refilling her bag was like refilling a piece of herself. The process made her realize at just how much _stuff_ she carried in it.

While scanning for papers, Foliga found the very paper detailing the plans and shopping list for things for the Litwick welcoming party. _It says nothing about buying any sort of ceremonial candles,_ Foliga concluded. _I know Septime was remembering that day wrong!_

 _Here's another one,_ she thought to herself, scanning the contents as she picked it up. _And I wrote this… almost a whole year ago!_

All the while, she and Ringer chatted with each other as their gathering became almost grueling under the afternoon sun, and their shadows began to stretch behind them. "You have lots of papers," Ringer commented.

"Yes," Foliga said sheepishly. "I don't really throw things away. It's all kind of important still."

"Does it relate to your work in any way?"

"Sort of. It's all important to me, at the very least." She eyed the Skarmory and the badge pinned on her chest, the golden winged badge that she had no clue what meant. "Speaking of which, what about you? What brings you through Paradise Village, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ringer sighed tiredly. "It's complicated. I'm not at liberty to speak with just anyone about it, save for a few exceptions."

Through the secrecy, Foliga could understand. She was not about to pry for answers that might anger the Skarmory out of curiosity. "Oh. Um, is there anything that it _is_ okay for me to know? I might be able to help!"

The Skarmory nodded, who now flew close over the ground to look for any more of her belongings. "I'm a member of a guild. Specifically, a guild of miners. We're interested in exploring the nearby area for any precious minerals or ore."

That was enough to get Foliga's mind going, as she tried to guess the rest. _Ore? Like from rocks? There must be some in the Copper Carvings. Would they be interested in there?_ She noticed how she stopped looking for papers, staring into the empty sky. The mountain range of the Copper Carvings was easily visible on the horizon, and just a quick trip through Paradise was her home, then the forest nearby her house…

Then she remembered the jewel. The fallen meteorite in her backyard. Her proposal papers that were lost in the forest.

"Ringer! I think I know something that you might be interested in! A whole meteorite flew in just the other night, and landed right into that nearby mountain range! A whole bunch of jewels might in it, all from outer space. I was about ready to launch an expedition to find it, and now I can go with you! But first we would need to go find the Superior, because he doesn't let anyone just wander through the gate, but I got drafts for a whole proposal already, and—"

Foliga paused in her tracks. She forgot how she carried the jewel from the night before in her bag. Which in the day's events, would have gotten scattered in the forest.

Ringer had found it first. She held the jewel with a single talon, fairly close to the ground, as if she only stopped to inspect it in the middle of picking it up. It did an excellent job reflecting the afternoon light onto its surface, as if absorbing the sun-streaked rays into itself. No one said a word to each other in a long, mystifying pause. The scene reminded Foliga of her own moment with the jewel earlier that afternoon, and even the night before, and she wondered if Ringer was experiencing something similar.

The Skarmory was the first to break the silence,"You say it landed in the Copper Carvings?"

Foliga was unsure at the question at first. "Um, yes."

"And only the elder of Paradise Village gives permission to enter?"

"Yes?"

Finally, the Skarmory pulled her eyes away from the jewel, and locked them with Foliga's, keen and ambitious, just as the Chikorita's were when she had made up her mind the night prior. "Thank you, Foliga, you've saved me days of unnecessary searching. There is something you can do to help. Please, take me to your Superior."


	2. Unforseen Circumstances

Foliga was running out of the forest, trusting that the Skarmory was not too far behind her. The way that told her where _home_ was went past large logs and shrubbery, hopping from rock to rock, and hoping that Ringer would not be too troubled by the obstacle course. She looked behind herself to see that the flying-type was making a good gliding pace despite both of their tiredness from the battle earlier.

She was urged by the Skarmory to go as fast as possible. "However you got in, just follow the same way out," said the steel-type. "Before we run out of daylight, preferably."

"How long were you in this forest looking?" Foliga asked.

"Since the early morning. The rest of my company fanned out to search more area at once." Ringer paused, then flew closer towards to confide. "I originally circumvented Paradise Village to carry on my search. I realize now that was a mistake."

"Don't worry about it too much! Besides, it would've been better for you to anyways. 'Mon around here tend to a bit shy around those they don't know. They might not have been much help."

Ringer hummed in amusement. "Being shy is one way to word it. That makes your village… unique."

"I'm honored that you think so!" Foliga said absentmindedly, focusing more on the path ahead.

Later, the edge of the forest was clearly visible to Foliga, and with another surge of energy she leaped out into the treeless terrain. The sky now clearly visible, day blues and evening oranges swirled together, and the air was still contently warm without the sun in the sky. On any regular day at this hour, Foliga would have already made it to her spot on the hill, and watched the rest of the lights fade from the sky. _But today is going to be something different!_ she thought.

Missus Leavanny had already retired into her simply built home for the day, evidenced by the light in her windows. The old pokemon most likely did not even remember sending Foliga into the forest. According to her guidelines, Foliga would have to next reported to the request giver whatever findings she had, the conversation opening along the lines of, _Missus Leavanny, there was an actual Pangoro in the woods next to your house that I had to fight…_

But another rule was in effect, which overrode that one. Foliga's newest priority was to escort the non-resident towards the Superior in order for him to properly oversee that the traveling pokemon would have their needs addressed before being directed back out of Paradise Village.

The only pokemon the Superior would see in this hour would be Septime.

She already knew most Septime's favorite spots to hang out with his friends, were far away from the more heavily populated places in Paradise, with much less pokemon to stare at her Skarmory companion. All were quiet, unobstructive places, where he and his other friends could wraggle other pokemon into doing favors for them. Foliga was lucky enough to find him in a nearby barn with its doors wide open, light streaming outside, letting her and Ringer observe. Gina the Gothitelle and Bulk the Throh were there, in the middle of giving what seemed like a lecture towards a single group of smaller pokemon, consisting of a Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour, The Servine himself was content to laying on bales of hay apart from the others.

"Now listen up!" Gina addressed the trio of siblings. "We got our letters already taken care of today, but we still need someone to take care of ours for tomorrow. You guys will be doing those."

The Panpour groaned tiredly on behalf of its siblings. "But we just did yours from yesterday! Why can't you find someone else?"

"Because this way's convenient! Three letters from us, there's three of you, so it works out!"

"It wastes our time," Bulk added dully.

"That's right. We can't waste time doing day-to-day jobs while Septime does his special ones. He gets his straight from the Superior, and he needs all the help he can get. Right, Septime?" Gina looked over towards the grass-type for confirmation.

Besides adjusting his reclining position, he said and did nothing.

"Ah-ha, don't you see?" Gina improvised. "He's so tired, he can't even focus on us."

"We help him because he helps everyone," added Bulk.

"Just imagine how Septime, and also the Superior, would be feeling right now if you three couldn't be able to do your part. They'd be pretty upset."

"But—"

The Gothitelle fixed a crooked bow and cleared her throat. "Ahem! Remember now, that by helping us, you help the Superior… and by helping the Superior, you help Paradise!"

"Don't mess with us," said Bulk.

The three younger pokemon were at a loss of words, and obviously did not have the will to fight against them. The Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour followed each other out of the opposite end of the barn. Each disappeared quickly when they stepped out of the single weak light of the structure. Both Foliga and Ringer stood outside the other entrance, able to witness the whole exchange without being seen themselves.

Foliga noted how Ringer watched the whole exchange alongside her, being silent and patient the whole way through. It was hard for her to tell what Ringer throught, unable to read past the Skarmory's sharp stare. But it caught Foliga off guard when Ringer turned her head to ask quietly, "Are one of those your Superior?"

"No, not at _all_. But that Servine in there's named Septime, and he's gonna help up us find him."

"…Are you friends with this Septime?"

Foliga shrugged. "Yes, just perhaps not close ones. We tend to work together, so we do get lots of chances to talk with each other."

"We must really ask for his help?"

Foliga contained a laugh at Ringer's remark. _Unfortunately, there's just no other way._ Out loud she said, "It'll be a simple matter of getting him to just show the way. You don't even have to say anything if you don't want to, and I'll get him to help us."

Ringer allowed the small grass-type to lead, and so Foliga marched into the light of the barn, revealing herself to Gina and Bulk. The Thoh was the first to notice, and went to block her path. Gina supported Bulk by moving to another side of her, in a grim smile like always.

Then each were caught in the gaze of the Skarmory looming above all of them, taking Foliga's side of the barn. Both backed down simultaneously. Gina and Bulk looked at each other, and over to Foliga, then finally Septime.

Foliga placed herself between the light of the barn and Septime which casted a shadow over him. He only reacted by frowning and squinted his eyes harder.

"Septime! It's me, Foliga! I still need your help. Do you remember what we talked about this morning?"

He groaned in response.

"C'mon, it's still really important! I need you to take me to see the Superior."

"You do realize I'm ignoring you on purpose?" he said. "What is your problem, you can't ever take a hint? I don't care about anything to do with—"

At that very word, Septime stopped and was met with an eyeful of _Skarmory_. He was not afraid to look at Ringer, even lock eyes with her, but he turned to talk back to Foliga. "Who is that?" he asked.

Foliga could not help but smile to herself at the turn of events. "She's a new reason why you should take the three of us to see the Superior."

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2: Unforeseen Circumstances_**

* * *

By the time the day turned dark, Septime had lead Ringer and Foliga to his and the Superior's home. It stood by itself, vastly far away from any structure still within eyeshot. Despite its basic design the house was still large compared to any other structure within Paradise Village. It had a wide dirt path leading up to the front, with a stone wall on one side that was too large compared to the Chikorita's size. Lights bled out the windows and into the dusk, so the Superior definitely had to be inside.

Foliga saw how Septime's demeanor changed following the encounter with his friends. Seeing Ringer for the first time had switched him into an actual work mode. He was not his usual disdaining, unmotivated self, the side that Foliga knew him most as. While he never said anything to the Chikorita, Septime instead carefully eyed Ringer almost the whole way. It made for an awkward, silent trip.

Ringer was no better. She was just as quiet as the other, who said barely a retort the entire way over. Her eyes grew narrower in a growing sense of tiredness or frustration… It was still hard for Foliga to accurately read the foreigner's expressions. She remained impassive as the three traveled past Paradise Village's arable fields that any other outsider pokemon would usually be impressed by.

Everyone stopped short at the front door, unsure what to do next. She took it upon herself to break their silence and turned to the Servine behind her. "I think you should be the first one to knock, Septime. This is your home too, after all."

"Me?" His face was dimly lit by the house lights, but Foliga saw his eyes darted between her own and Ringer's. "Fine, whatever."

The taller grass-type took her place at the door. Then he opened it. Carefully. Septime was allowed the out late, but he knew as Foliga did how the Superior could find fault in anything, which could include handling a door roughly.

 _Creeeak!_ Foliga and Septime cringed together, and stopped their advance with their heads pressed against the door. The weight of Ringer's bemused gave fell heavily on the air. It was only open a bit, but still too wide for neither of them to slip in. _"I'm not opening this door any more,"_ Septime hissed.

 _"You have to! Just work through it!"_ Foliga whispered back.

 _"No, this is as far as it goes."_

 _"I'll just finish it then, just move aside…"_

 _"Foliga you're just going to screw— hey, quit trying to push me—!"_

 _"You dad might not even hear us..!"_

 _"Do not call him— Aaah!"_

Foliga fell on top of Septime, then they plowed into the door and rolled inside. With the front door now wide open and Ringer staring onwards, Septime groaned and pushed Foliga off him.

And the Superior was also there, looming right over them.

Foliga could see many of the qualities that Septime inherited from the Superior. Right down to his glaring eyes, the fully evolved grass-type was big, which added an extra level of intimidation that his son did not yet have. The Superior was also long, and coiled himself into a neat pile in front of the door as if he had been waiting there. But his tail thumped impatiently against the floorboards and betrayed any composure he tried to project.

"I'm home," Septime said, still laying on the floor.

"Just what are you two accomplishing, putzing about in the early night? Creeping in like I wouldn't be able to notice? Making a scene out of nothing? This immaturity? I hold certain expectations of you, Septime, yet you continue to disappoint me even when I least expect such. Now stand yourself up."

Septime scrambled to do so.

His attention quickly switched to Foliga, who was standing awkwardly next to Septime. "And you! I don't expect much of you already, but now you betray my trust, and _enable_ him into doing these schemes?"

"I just said the same thing earlier this day, too!" Septime started.

The Superior held his tail in the air, and he hushed up immediately. "All this excitement concerning the ruckus in the Copper Carvings will undoubtedly bring outsiders to our village within the fortnight. I cannot afford any lapses in planning."

Foliga finally saw a chance, and stepped forward to the Superior, fumbling with her bag. "That's one of the many things we would like to talk to your about, sir. Please take a look at—"

"Foliga. Be _seen_ , not _heard_. Now, you two have been operating closely for many seasons, and have nothing to show for it but a long string of failures. Failures on important projects which have costed not only both of your reputations within the village, but our Paradise to those outsiders. I will not tolerate this! Anyone that takes a look at either of you will only see our village as a laughing stock!"

"I must disagree with you on that front, sir."

That was the first time Ringer had spoken in the night. The Skarmory stood opposing the Superior, while on the same side as her guides, and the two young grass-types slightly turned their heads with wide-eyed, worried looks. "While I cannot say much about him, I can certainly vouch on behalf this Chikorita. She has been most helpful. There's much more material worth criticizing."

"And who dares interrupt me, when I just made clear to not?!" His tail thumped harder and faster into the floorboards. "And who do you believe yourself to be, when I am instructing my workers?"

The two locked eyes, one pair of keen eyes staring into another. Ringer was closest to the front door, the one they all entered, and she saw firsthand how to look after herself, but Foliga could not help but think loudly for the Skarmory's safety. _Please, be careful! You could still make a run for it!_

But despite the scene she had stepped into, her reply reverted into the one given to Foliga in the woods. Polite and remote. "My name is Ringer. I am a Skarmory."

"I don't care for your introduction. State your business."

"Of course. I am with the Mountaineers, a mining guild. We are interested in the nearby Copper Carvings."

"So you're after that meteorite?"

"More or less."

The Superior seemed to calm down some, his tail sweeping across the floor like a broom. "I see. Your kind has arrived much quicker than I was expecting. But why not enter through at Seafoam Village? It's tedious to be crossing from this side of the Carvings."

Ringer paused, seemingly struggling to find the right words. "There have been… unprecedented circumstances there."

"So, should I expect to be hearing from your leader soon? Or will you all I be seeing? Should I expect any of my own 'unprecedented circumstances?'"

"As first lieutenant, I have explicit permission to represent Captain Ty in negotiations. And we are willing to negotiate."

Each stared the opposite down, refusing to give attention towards the two other pokemon there. Foliga found herself lagging behind in the exchange and trying to make sense of what she heard. _Mountaineers? Unprecedented circumstances? Captain Ty? First lieutenant?_

Septime next to her did not waste any time in shaking his own confusion and inserted himself into the conversation. "E-Exactly! That's something we can easily work into my plan. Now, sir, take a look as this drafted proposal that I, and I guess the tiniest bit of Foliga's help, made, and we can see that everyone can benefit from this meteorite at the Carvings, and goes home happy." He turned towards Foliga expectantly. "Now, if you would? You had it last, even when I know it's pretty good already…"

Foliga pulled out the draft from her bag. It was a fairly detailed report fill on both sides, purely fueled by her excitement from the night before. She was proud of it all the same, even as a simple draft. But Septime did not read it so much as glance at it. He marched forward callously and held it in front for his father to take. And the Superior still paid no attention to it nor his son. For any other pokemon, Septime would be waving the paper to flag down their attention, but after an awkward beat all he could do was urge it closer to the Superior, who finally snapped for it with his tail, except Ringer.

"Ah, good… N-Now, it's only a draft, but Foliga would be happy to clear anything up—"

"Septime," the Superior sharply addressed. "I will have much to discuss with this one—"

"My name is Ringer."

"And, I have no need for your company on the matter. So go."

Septime rubbed his leaf-hands together. "S-So what should—"

"So take Foliga and yourself and wait outside. Quietly. Then I want to talk with you, and then I will talk to both you and Foliga, and then I want Foliga to go home." The Superior sighed. "Leave."

And so, with absolutely no resistance from herself, Foliga was herded outside and into the night with Septime. They were on either side of the door, looking blankly into the cultivated fields. It was already darker than before, with the only sources letting them see were inside the house and the moonlight casting its solemn hue onto everything. Both grass-types waited silently with only the sounds from the environment that typically accompanied the dusk.

She was not happy at exactly how it had happened, but Foliga got done what she set out to do, and that was good enough for her. The Superior had gotten ahold of the idea to explore the Copper Carvings, even under the disguise as Septime's idea. From the way she phrased it towards both him and Ringer, there would just be no downside; the Superior would move the meteorite to make revenue off tourists, or now he could just hand it over to Ringer and she would get rid of both it and the attention the Superior loathed. And the best part was how Foliga would be at the forefront of it all.

Oh, she was pretty uncharacteristically sneaky about including that detail. And thankfully Septime never even read the draft, so he missed that little side note on how Foliga would be a perfect candidate to venture into the Copper Carvings to find the meteorite, for a plethora of reasons that were too good to deny. _Unless I have any 'unforseen circumstances' of my own,_ Foliga thought, smiling to herself. _There is just no reason to turn me down! Plus now that Ringer is here, I'm sure that she'll throw in a good word for me too!_

Still inside, Ringer held the most quiet conversation with the Superior that Foliga could ever recall. The Superior held a status quo for yelling at everyone. With no exceptions. And impunity. After a long while, Foliga finally wondered aloud, "What they could be possibly talking about?"

She looked over to Septime, fully anticipating a retort. None came her way. Septime was contempt with sitting, and pouting, and staring vacantly into the distance.

"Septime?" Are you okay?"

The Servine in question took his time to do a long, exasperated sigh. "You tell me. What did I say about not getting wrapped up in this? Well, it totally happened anyway!"

"I didn't ask you to get involved," she replied, "I only ever asked you get me to see the Superior. You didn't have to insist the the draft was yours, or that you even had anything to do with it." Somewhere down the line, her voice eased into frustration. "And so, it seems to me that you're the one that has an easy enough time screwing up on their own."

"You wouldn't have even gotten this far if it wasn't for me!" he countered. "Do you think you'd even be here right now, if I didn't warm up the Superior for you? Did you see how he treated me?"

"What makes you think you don't deserve it?"

"You numbskull, I'm the only one that can handle it. There's a bit of _human_ in me, after all."

Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, where Septime could not see, Foliga rolled a pair of imaginary eyes. She hated it when he played that card. "Septime, you don't know if that's even true. And even if it was, it's probably such a small percentage that it isn't even noticeable." _Or even important,_ she added mentally. Humans were magical, and she like most, were enamored with tales about them. Tales of their heroics were as inspiring as a starry night, both worth losing sleep over. And Septime tarnished those stories whenever he insisted he was one of them.

"It is noticeable, and it has to be true!" He scoffed as if it might have been the most preposterous thing he ever heard.

"Your dad might just have… lied… about having a human as an ancestor. Actually ask him about it." _It should be easy talking to family. Aren't you supposed to get along?_

Septime got mad. "You've had your last warning." He grabbed the Chikorita by her stem. He would have lifted any smaller pokemon off the ground then, but it was enough to keep her from running away. "I don't care who hears me anymore."

 _Creeak!_ Recognizing the sound of the noisy door, Septime lowered his hand and backed away from Foliga, glaring at her. From within the house Ringer stepped out and rounded the door, quickly scanning for the two grass-types. The Skarmory seemed indifferent towards them, and her keen features gave no hint towards what actually was decided between her and the Superior. "We're done," Ringer announced. Then she turned to Septime. "He wishes to speak to you now."

He said nothing, only brushing past her and shuffling into the house. Now only Foliga and Ringer were the ones outside waiting.

It was only when Septime fully closed the door when Foliga released her breath. She could not even remember holding it. Amusingly, Ringer did the same for her own brand of reasons, and took a place on the opposite side of the door, reminiscent to how Foliga and Septime were initially positioned.

"So, how did it go? What did you and the Superior talk about?" Foliga tried to sound calm, like she was not about to get into another fight with a pokemon.

"Classified," Ringer said simply. "He wished to reveal so himself, as part of what we agreed upon. But I feel certain otherwise that it went well enough. Your Superior was not how I expected."

The more time around the Skarmory she spent. Regardless, she nodded along. "I know how the Superior can be a bit… hard to anticipate, at times. But wow, Ringer! I had no idea you were second-in-command to a whole guild! To just speak on behalf of your whole group…"

"No, not second-in-command," Ringer corrected. "Just a lieutenant, as Captain Ty, our leader, would declare. But he does indeed trust me a great deal to do so."

Foliga was awestruck. _I wonder when the Superior would give me that much power. If I'm going into the Copper Carvings with Ringer and her friends, I ought to learn everything I can._ "So, what can you tell me about your guild?"

Ringer answered slowly like she had answered in the forest earlier that day. "There's… not much to say. We are the Mountaineers, explorers who specialize in mining and recovering precious materials from the earth. Now I suppose all things extraterrestrial too." The last bit was followed with a bemused huff. "This is a very special expedition for us. About fifty of us crossed the ocean from our base on the Grass Continent—"

"Pardon, did you say _fifty_?" Foliga said incredulously. _That's going to more than double or even triple my foreign pokemon encounters!_

"There are exactly three-hundred and sixteen members in the Mountaineers. Only so few could have made the trip overseas comfortably. And the Captain wanted pokemon that he could trust to accompany him." Ringer gave a thoughtful pause, gazing down at the tiny grass-type. "You don't know about much outside Paradise Village, do you."

The Chikorita shuffled her nails bashfully into the ground. "Ah, well, you're right, I haven't seen all that much outside the surrounding area, and the Copper Carvings…"

"Captain Ty is a Tyranitar. Do you know what that is?"

She blinked, Suddenly _Foliga_ was the one getting questioned, and for seemingly no reason why. "Well, if he's your leader, I'm sure he looks like one. And a Tyranitar sounds like a friendly enough pokemon if we're going by names alone…"

"Foliga, how did you come to stay in Paradise? Where is your family?"

"I…" Ringer was not the first pokemon to ask her this, on top of all the other villagers and travelers alike. But that did not change how it made her freeze every time. How that missing piece bothered her, as well as everyone else, it seemed. It did not change how she gave the same answer to each of them. "I honestly don't know for sure. To either of those things. But I know if I look and work and dream hard enough, then I'm sure that I'll find out!"

For whatever reason, Ringer shook her head. "That should not be how—"

Creeeak! The noisy door cut into the conversation, and both pokemon turned to see Septime, who did not bother stepping outside in favor of hanging off the hinges. Unlike with Ringer beforehand, he was red-eyed, had a runny nose, and tried to hide his heavy breathing under a faulty composure, the likes of which Foliga knew was rare to see. _I haven't seen him like this since he was a Snivy. What did the Superior tell him?_

"He wants to see you guys again," he said under a shaky breath.

Knowing better than to comment on him, Foliga let Septime lead her back inside, followed by Ringer soon after. The Superior uncoiled himself in the entrance hall and trailed deeper into the house, indicating that he was pacing from room to room while he was speaking. Thankfully, his own temper had subsided over the late evening, and presented himself more professionally than how everyone started out. Out of the three pokemon that stood before him, Foliga was wedged between Septime and Ringer who dwarfed her presence in the room with their own.

When he saw the Skarmory again, the Superior had such a drastic change, greeting her like an old partner. "Thank you for waiting so patiently. Now, let us all regroup and review together what will be happening in the next few days."

"What is she still doing here?" asked Septime, pointing to Foliga.

"Now now, don't forget what we talked about earlier," the Superior said. "She is important, because when the rest of Ringer's company arrives tomorrow, she will be in charge of providing quarters for them." His voice hinted cynicism behind almost every word. "But the troubles of each of us will be rewarded the Mountaineers will get what they came for. The meteorite is theirs, and we will be compensated a _generous_ amount."

Foliga stepped forward to accept the task. "Yessir. Did you have anywhere in mind?"

"Prepare utilities tomorrow at the pavilion, the one near the west entrance to the Copper Carvings."

She said tentatively, "Sir, the pavilion may be too small to accompany the whole party. Might not protect them from bad weather."

"I believe the one you're referring to is also unstable," Ringer added. "I've seen it myself. That roof is at risk of collapsing."

The Superior rolled his eyes. "Very well, then maybe the tents at the northern highway?"

"Not much of an improvement, the ice-types wanted some for their own camp and still use them—"

"Alright," the Superior growled, calm mask cracking. "Then how about the hollowed-out hill homes nearby the square?"

"Ceiling is not high enough. We have two Onix—"

"How about the mill—?"

"Too wet for any rock-type—"

"Just let them sleep outside!" Septime raised.

"Septime, stop it!"

"Enough!" the Superior roared. And everyone froze. He took a pause, and a deep breath, and finally said, "Prepare for them to stay at the Hollowing Windmill."

Foliga blinked. The now old, non-functional windmill was established long before she was even alive, and the added title _hollowing_ was only a nickname that just happened to stick. Why it was called that was a reason too old for anyone present to recall. Many of the younger pokemon believed the place was the home of _malevolent spirits_ , not ghost-types, that spooked and tortured anyone who approached. But naming it such was probably the best way to keep out any vandalizers, she always assumed. The place was boarded up and locked so no one could mess with anything inside. It could work.

"Yes, it's dry, and it's dark, and it's underground partially, and it's everything else a good exploring guild needs, hmm?"

"But I would have to clean the inside. It's going to be rancid."

"Then clean it," He ordered. Then he tossed a key at the Chikorita, who caught it with her leaf. "You may find some other pokemon to help prepare it, and you'll be excused from doing anything else tomorrow. It better be ready by the evening."

"Yessir, I won't let you down."

"Good." The Superior nodded. "As I was originally saying, the Mountaineers will be accommodated by us, and will stay a few days at the Hollowing Windmill to study the landscape. And when they're finally ready, Septime will lead them into the Copper Carvings."

Foliga held her breath. _Wait, Septime?! But I'm the one supposed to go!_ She glanced quickly over to Ringer, expecting reassurance or explanation, who stayed silent while feeling nothing worth commenting on. She barely thought when she said aloud, "Sir, what about me? What should I do?"

"What about you? Remain in the village, and clean up after the Mountaineers."

"B-But, the draft! Septime is too crucial to send. I made a point to show why I should—"

"Yes. that draft," the Superior interrupted, "is simply a _draft_. Septime shall be the one to guide the Mountaineers into the Copper Carvings. He knows the area just as well as you do, does he not?"

She made no reply, lowering her head down in defeat. He might not have read the draft all the way through. _He might have missed it, I did start to run out of room on the page… but I have to go to the Copper Carvings, I have to be the one to find the rest of the meteorite!_

But everyone else was pushing ahead, and Ringer suddenly said, "Then it's settled. It's getting late, Foliga. You ought to return to your home."

Foliga looked up at the Skarmory, her confusion and desperation rising even more. "Where are you going?"

Septime took an annoyed sigh. "She's gonna be staying with us. As… our house guest. And I'll be showing her around the village tomorrow. Not that you'll get to see her when you'll be busy."

"Yes, you are excused for the night." the Superior finished. "Now get going. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

Foliga knew better than to challenge the Superior any more than she already had. The look on the two other pokemon's faces hinted no interest in her company with them, and she understood then no support for her would come, even from Ringer. With a nod of her head and with a deep heartache, the Chikorita excused herself out into the night, alone.

The sky that night was darker than earlier, with blotches of the real masked by clouds, when small tears in the overcast would reveal the stars. It was far from the ideal nightwatch that Foliga usually did, but it ended up being her only companion at the end of the day. She could stare upwards that the slowly rolling clouds while walking, and asked herself the same questions she always would when she failed.

 _Where did I go wrong? Today was supposed to work out, I was so close! I was standing right in front of the Superior! And Ringer. why didn't she do anything?_ Foliga shook her head. They had only met that afternoon, after all. Perhaps she was too trusting…

Eventually, she reached her cozy home, and welcomed herself inside the den. It was pitch black, but Foliga threw herself into the bed in the center of the room.

She sighed the longest sigh she could. Mulling over her thoughts in the quiet of her surroundings. On her side, She stared blankly out her one small basement-sized window, trying to drift into sleep. _I thought I was really gonna do it, that something was going to go exactly to plan._ But Foliga's frustration had made her restless, tossing and turning in bed until her eyes had wandered everywhere in the darkness.

Springing to her feet, she searched for the orange jewel within her bag, and brought it back to bed. It radiated its own glow, a warmth like a gentle spring breeze . She did not feel very cold before, but found herself curling up against it. Hypotheticals began to float in her mind and were vivid with their emotions. _What if I wasn't the one to find this one? What if some 'mon found the meteorite, and brought the jewel back to their parent, having less clue than I did on what it is? What if Septime found it, and got scared of it?_ It held an unmistakable presence whenever Foliga held it, and doubted that the Servine would be calm as she was.

 _I gotta go the Copper carvings anyway, and retrieve the rest of this meteorite. I just have to. Because…_

By the next morning, Foliga threw herself into her work, wanting to resolve the Hollowing Windmill fast, Then she could find Ringer along with Septime, and somehow convince the Skarmory to take Foliga with them. If Septime was truly leaving with Ringer, then he would naturally resist the idea. But something gave Foliga the feeling that Septime would let her take his place.

As her first order of business, she went to the windmill by herself first, because no one would be up in her schedule, using the old key that the Superior had given her the night before, and opened the windmill's creaky doors. And as she expected, it was decrepit. The dust and dry atmosphere was gag-inducing, which would only get worse the deeper down into the windmill. Foliga needed better lighting than what the morning light could provide. The ceiling seemed to go on forever, but that was the intended idea to house Ringer's guild. But one dedicated day would never get close to looking the tiniest bit acceptable.

T _he windmill's probably not been opened since whichever 'mon decided to originally board it up!_ Foliga surmised _,_ repulsed by the rotting boards. _Who's ever gonna want to help me clean this place?_

Heading deeper into the windmill, she found heavy barrels and crates stored, left until whoever would show up next. More rooms, beams, and storage were deeper underground. The wooden boards under and all around creaked under the Chikorita, threatening to break even under her tiny weight. Sometimes, the sound would echo from everywhere, traveling across the room, before settling down again. When it first happened Foliga went stiff, before bargaining that she had to have made the noise herself.

 _Oh, there it is again,_ she thought, walking along. _Ha-ha, just the boards moving a bit. What causes that again? Nothing special I bet._

 _A-A-And it happened again! Just a little bit closer now, though I'm sure that it was me this time…_

Foliga searched thoroughly in the branching away room and halls, not finding any interesting items or tools. The Hollowing Windmill was greatly expanded when it once needed to be, evidenced by the turning wood quality and the beams that supported the ceiling. One of the final large rooms, the newest of all, had dark colored floorboards and thick columns with nothing in it. It was the strangest of all, with a small but steady rhythm audible throughout. Foliga stopped in the center of the room, trying to locate the cause of the sound—

 _Craaack!_

"WAAAAHH!" She scampered away as fast as her legs would carry her, turning corners and climbing stairs until she backed out of the Hollowing Windmill. She leaped at the final stretch, bursting out into the daylight. Foliga locked onto the wide-open doors, just waiting for someone to come out with her.

But after watching the environment stay still, the windmill unmoving, nothing moved from the shadow of the inside.

Foliga allowed herself a sigh of relief. _Well, I, uh, got a good enough look! But I shouldn't head right back in there, not just yet. I should find someone to go in with me._

From there, the morning had dragged on, and the grass-type got tons out of simply walking down the roads, relishing the sunlight. She walked towards all sorts of places, from small creeks to dusty plots, everywhere she knew to find pokemon able to help her. But by that point in the morning, most of her fellow social workers were too busy doing their own jobs, either individually or in small groups, who all promptly declined her invitation of working together. The ones who did stick around past that, eventually lost interest at the mention of the Hollowing Windmill.

At that point the sun was mockingly looming above her, and even with it Foliga dragged herself across the dirt highways of Paradise. With no one around to notice or laugh, the Chikorita sulked. From dealing with Septime, to fighting a monstrous pokemon, to getting her only ambition dashed in the span on a single moment… it was hard to find assistance in Paradise Village, but that was not new to her. _The only 'mon left I could bother to ask are Septime's friends,_ Foliga thought. _The worst that could happen is that they'll say no. And then, I'd just have to clean the Hollowing Windmill by myself._

She traveled again across Paradise checking the usual hangouts that Septime's friends liked to fraternize. The whole village was bustling with activity, and pokemon traveled the roads freely, tending to their own business. Foliga knew they would be somewhere out of the way to be able to pull stunts and get away with it. And by a large tree on top of an out-of-the-way hill, she found Bulk the Throh, Gina the Gothitelle. Septime was there too, with Ringer in tow.

Bulk and Gina played some inane game involving throwing rocks at the trunk of the tree. Septime was sitting idly by himself, mostly ignoring Ringer, both seemingly content in their awkward quiet. The Skarmory was the first to notice Foliga and gave a slight nod of her head. The Chikorita smiled back, but marched up to Septime.

"Good morning Septime," she tried saying pleasantly, "what are you and Ringer doing here? Weren't you supposed to show her around Paradise Village, meet up with the rest of her guild?"

"I am," Septime grumbled. Then he stood up. "Lookie here, this is the tree we like to throw rocks at!" He pointed down towards the village square. "That's the place where buy stuff at!" Then he pointed at Foliga. "There's the reject that won't mind her own business!"

The Chikorita stomped a foot into the earth. "Only because it doesn't seem like you're doing your job."

"Speaking of which," he snapped back, "aren't you supposed to be on cleaning duty or something? How come you're not doing your job?"

Foliga paused. It made her look back at the tree, where Bulk and Gina were still occupied in their game. "I'm trying to find other 'mon who could help me clean the Hollowing Windmill. I wouldn't suppose you or your friends would be up to the task?"

"Can't you see I'm busy?" The Servine rolled his eyes. "I got a big day ahead of me, the Copper Carvings and all. Gotta save my strength."

The floodgates opened at that very instant, and Foliga became on the verge of tears and rage and frustration, all at the same time. Just seeing Septime sitting there was the final straw. She hopped and cried, "Why do you have to go to the Copper Carvings?! Just look at you, you don't even want to go! You got off of my plans! It's unfair!"

" _Life_ is unfair. Believe me."

Foliga turned next to Ringer, sitting a bit farther away than before. The Skarmory had stayed quiet throughout it all, but Foliga betrayed any inner composure she had left. "Ringer, can't you do something?" she asked with a crack in her voice. "You must have an idea about how much this expedition means to me! Isn't there anything you can do?"

Ringer simply shook her head. "I sincerely apologize, Foliga. This is part of our negotiation with the Superior. Only members of the Mountaineers are permitted into the Copper Carvings."

"Wait, you don't mean—"

"That's right!" Septime cutted in, feigning enthusiasm. "I'm just trying to enjoy my last few hours here before I run off with Ringer's gang." Then, he stood up and bared down on the Chikorita. "So why don't you run off and—"

"Septime! DISASTER!"

Everyone paused. Three heads turned to see a fourth pokemon. A very young and tiny Cubchoo was racing up the hill at them, visibly out of breath and sniffling loudly from the effort. Foliga did not know the ice-type by name, only by one of many Septime would get to do his work. The Cubchoo stopped short of them, and fell to his knees after the sprint. When he was ready, he yelled—

"DISASTER! Septime! Please—!"

"Yes! I hear you! What do you want?!"

The Cubchoo, in between gasps and breaths, tried to explain its story. "The-the-the rock was talking! And then we followed it a bit l-l-like you would and w-w-we threw stuff at it, and we chased it, and now— Now Sear is gone! T-t-that thing has Sear!"

Septime sighed in frustration, trying to tap into whatever social worker skills he had. "Okay. so _what_ has your friend?"

"The monster!"

"Monsters aren't real. Go home and quit being stupid."

The Cubchoo did not say anything more to the Servine. Instead of leaving, the ice-type turned to Foliga expectantly.

"Ah. It's just another 'mon you don't recognize." Foliga rationalized. "Nothing to worry about. But you shouldn't be throwing things—"

"Foliga, quit stealing my leads!" Suddenly she was pushed out of the way by him, and he got into the ice-type's face to demand full attention. Where does this 'monster' have your friend?"

"The windmill!"

Foliga sighed internally. _Oh, for crying out loud. This is why that it's barred up in the first place!_ "You shouldn't be playing there. It's not safe for—"

"That place is a _mystery dungeon_! A-and the monster took Simi into its lair and y-you gotta throw things at it to let Simi go…"

No one replied. Foliga, and most likely Septime and Ringer also, were still hanging on those two words. A _mystery dungeon_. It slowly began to make some sense to the Chikorita. The eeriness, the sounds, and she blamed herself for not arriving to that conclusion on her own. _How come I didn't think of that sooner? How in the world was this Cubchoo was able to recognize it before me?_

But no one was more reeled back than Ringer. Her entire posture changed, and stood up with the rest of them. She went back to being keen, calculating as she was against the violent Pangoro the day prior. That simple shift alerted both grass-types, and both looked up to her. And for the first time Ringer was the one to instruct the trio of pokemon, leaving no question to her authority. "Alert your Superior. I need to see that mystery dungeon."

Septime shot her a confused look. "Why? Just do what we always do, just wait for those stragglers out on their own and—"

"There's no time for that!" Ringer yelled, startling everyone. "If a mystery dungeon suddenly appears, if someone is lost in it, then there's no reason to _not_ investigate."

"None of us are even prepared for one! You sure aren't!"

"Irrelevant." The Skarmory unfolded her wings, already preparing to take off. "The three of us are more than enough."

Septime look snidely at Foliga, and at her stuffed satchel. "Unless she's hiding some tools in there. Then good luck."

Foliga studied Ringer. She still did know much about the Skarmory. But she understood. Someone needed to rescue pokemon. And how suddenly Ringer acted, she knew, was only fueled by a deep desire, something behind them that is just too hard to explain to anyone. But if it mattered that much to her… _Then I should do everything to help her._

She nodded to herself. The Chikorita set her bag on the ground, and began taking out her papers and old documents. Removing anything that was non-essential was a ritual she would usually do in the comfort of her home, but had to just leave multiple stacks of papers lying on the grass, and hoped the day would not be windy to collect them again easily. When she finally finished, she looked back up to the Skarmory and said, "Okay, I'm ready, whenever you are!"

Ringer nodded. "Thank you. Lead me to the windmill."

"Now, hold up!" Septime said desperately. "You guys are really rushing into this. And you, Miss Skarmory," he pointed to her, "are supposed to be following me today, not the other way around."

"Yes. I can understand how that may be an issue. But I've followed you around all day, and you haven't done much in the way of actually doing anything. So I'm electing to ignore you and your friends for the time being." Ringer was so direct, Foliga would have giggled at the reaction they received under different circumstances.

Septime's entire being turned red. He struggled and laughed it away to maintain his own composure. "I'm supposed to be your guide, and if the Superior sees me without you—"

"Then there's not many choices you have."

The Servine's whole being flared, and the stomped the earth repeatedly. "Fine. Fine! Bulk, Gina, get over here!"

He left for his friends with the Cubchoo in tow to explain the situation, leaving Ringer and Foliga alone. The Skarmory already took the air, her wingspan and design betraying her true agility. The Chikorita using all her strength and a lighter bag to be able to keep pace. In an unspoken agreement between the two, both pokemon began the trek to the Hollowing Windmill much like their journey the day before, but with this time with a yelling Servine not far behind them.


	3. Being Superior

The Superior did not move while his son and Foliga exited the house, so neither did Ringer.

The Skarmory had enough experience against foes, both in and out of mystery dungeons. Gauging an opponent's ability was an important skill to refine. In her mind, the steel-flying-type began to emulate a hypothetical battle against him. She had a type advantage. But he had the natural advantage of being bigger, and could grab her from range… None of that would matter in the end, because in every scenario she could imagine, Ringer would win _modestly._

The "Superior" surely did not get his position by being stronger, or wiser, or older. That much was obvious to her. He was a pushover. But living in an extremely secluded village with no opposition to his leadership made him _vain_. And having command over young "social workers" reporting directly to him was effectively creating a _whole generation_ of youths into following him unquestionably…

Ringer reminded to focus. _It shouldn't make a difference to me what he does here. I should try to remain professional. It wouldn't reflect well on the Mountaineers or Caption Ty when they eventually arrive._ But her suspicions that night were slowly being proven correct, starting when they all stepped into the Serperior's humble abode. Since the door behind Foliga had closed shut, leaving Ringer and him alone, neither felt obligated to begin the conversation.

Finally, after taking in a breath, the Superior relented. "Now I wouldn't want to prolong your stay in my village, we can both agree to that. I'm just as ecstatic about this as you are, and I doubt that escorting you away would stop the rest of your company from showing up." He did not do much to hide his sarcasm.

Ringer nodded. "You are correct about the Mountaineers. This expedition is very important."

"Excellent. Now that I've shooed away from any young ears listening in, let me try to ask again what brings your lot all the way here, to my paradise?"

She had a rehearsed speech to answer with, like the abridged one she told Foliga earlier. "The Mountaineers are predominantly a mining guild. We venture into deep catacombs to retrieve minerals and precious gems. More interestingly is the arrival of the meteorite, which we believe was rocketed from a belt of asteroids transcribed to contain unique extraterrestrial minerals—"

"No, no, _no_." The Superior shook his head. "I don't need you to do a whole song and dance. I want to know why _here_! _This_ entrance to the Copper Carvings! Seafoam Village's entrance is much closer if you truly are from the Grass Continent."

Ringer blinked. _Paradise Village is much more isolated than I could imagine. How news this big doesn't reach the neighboring village…_

"Seafoam Village, along with many other towns on this continent, is gone. Its entrance to the Copper Carvings is too dangerous to consider." She saw the destruction herself. It was simply impossible, nevermind unprecedented in her career as an explorer. Space distorted, rubble and houses indistinguishable, and all the pokemon living there… "It's a ghost town. There are no records of any survivors."

The Superior's features visibly softened. "I see… That's unfortunate to hear. And the perpetrators? Have they been captured?"

"Not yet." In fact, there was no reason for anyone to conclude that there was a perpetrator at all. Expedition societies' channels were unreliable still, and Ringer was trusted to not disclose any information that may give the wrong impression.

"So, now that villages are under attack by an unknown enemy, and your kind have happened to find your way here. That seems a bit too convenient to be a coincidence." He slithered away into a far off room, and a swish of his tail beckoned Ringer to follow. The two moved to a more cozier part of the house, warmly lightened with a fireplace. The Superior coiled lazily on one side of the fire.

Ringer did not enter the room at all and stood in the doorframe. His accusation struck a cord within the Skarmory, and she leered her eyes at him. "You don't mean to suggest—"

"That your kind are the ones responsible? Maybe you actually are, but I doubt that." He stared into the flames, casting a long shadow behind him. "The whole town gets into a ruckus over some meteorite, then your lot start showing up, and now, if I am to trust you, that bandits are raiding villages… Some may try to trick me, do things under my nose. But I'm not oblivious. Even my son thinks he can get away with things…" Ringer studied the grass-type more carefully. She knew that the Superior was not really addressing her anymore than he was to himself. The Serperior turned himself around to face Ringer. "I will permit you to stay in my paradise. And the rest of your guild may also, when they all eventually trickle here. Then leave. I want no trace of you here. Allow Paradise Village as it was meant to be."

"Fair enough," she said. "I was truthfully expecting more of a negotiation—"

"I will only house your kind here if you take Septime among you."

The sudden demand had actually made her guffaw. "You want us to recruit your son?"

"Yes. And unless you do, then I cannot promise your kind my entrance to the Copper Carvings. Guilds these days take in just about anyone, even the sick and orphaned. Didn't you mention yours was over two-hundred strong?"

The Skarmory rolled her head side to side, weighing the proposition. She would ignore the jab at the Mountaineers, but did truly consider the offer. A exploration team like hers would always need more grass-types, as traveling into caverns would be made easier. That still still did not erase the numerous details and other problems it arose. "That won't be up to me," Ringer replied, "Only Captain Ty has the power to induct new members. But I'm certain that he would agree to your terms… But if I may ask, why?

"Because he disappoints me," The Superior said plainly. "Do I need more of a reason?"

"And if he doesn't even want to join the Mountaineers?"

"Then he can quit, and be lost by himself out in the world. But he won't be permitted back here. He wants to leave Paradise Village, that much I know for certain." The Serperior sprawled himself over the carpet, and Ringer knew that he was not interested in talking any further. "If you agree to my terms, then wait outside and send Septime in after you."

The weight of her explorer badge on her breast reminded her of Captain Ty. _I'm expecting a call from him any moment now._ Outwardly, RInger nodded. "Very well. Then I'll see myself out."

With that, Ringer excused herself from the room with the fireplace, and began to head out the door. But doing so did not erase the uncertainty she had. Rather, the uncertainty that the Superior _did not_ have. Now knowing what was happening outside Paradise Village, he still did not want to do anything? Ringer headed back one more time to the Superior before heading out;

"You may want to keep away from it forever, but the world will catch up," Ringer said. "You can't protect yourself by deciding to isolate yourself and the rest of Paradise Village. And unless you decide to act... then Paradise is already doomed."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3: Being Superior**_

* * *

 **Hollowing Windmill**

 **B1F**

* * *

"How familiar are you two with mystery dungeons?" Ringer had asked in her usual tone that made it not sound like a question at all.

"Uhh…" The most recent time to Foliga's memory was when a Cottonee was lost on one of the dungeons outside Paradise Village's border. Both it and herself were not safe from being scolded, because _you're not supposed to be out here!_ Her best memories were exploring the woods surrounding Paradise, or purposefully entering the mystery dungeons to practice her fighting. She was certainly no stranger to battle; if things turned out bad for her, like it had with the Pangoro, she did know how to fend for herself. _But how good will I be in here, visiting this place for the first time?_ "Just enough to know the basics?" Foliga answered shyly.

"She's done more than I have," Septime admitted, following at the back of their line. "But I know a few tricks of my own."

"We've even gotten to do one together! Don't you remember that, Septime?" She smiled enthusiastically and moved backwards to hear more from him.

Instead, the Servine shoved her back to the front, then folded his leaf-arms. "Yes, I do. Just stop getting so close to me."

"That is better than most." Ringer went on, towing the two grass-types deeper into the windmill. "But to remind you, the most important fact to always remember is that these spaces are never the same twice. A corridor may lead left, when the next day it may not exist at all."

"Yeah yeah, and the pokemon in here are vicious, and better to stick in numbers, I know all this!" Septime snapped.

Since leaving for the windmill, all three were contempt to walking independently, harboring in the silence. But with each step any of them took, the floorboards were bound to creak. It was quickly driving the Chikorita mad, and she wanted to hear more from Ringer, who was staying mostly quiet since entering the windmill. The exploration badge pinned on the Skarmory's breast still glinted proudly, even in the dark. "So, you're with a guild, and you go into dungeons like these all the time?" Foliga asked.

Ringer hummed something to herself. "Much less than you must be imagining."

She nodded, examining the windmill idly. The corridors were barely wide enough to accommodate them side by side. The ceiling was dark, and seemed to stretch on forever. "I bet it must be annoying, being a flying-type like yourself but not being able to stretch your wings…"

"So? It just means that she gets to walk on the ground like the rest of us." Septime scoffed from far behind.

She huffed at him in frustration. "You know, I just can't wrap my head around why you're being so difficult about things."

"Why _I'm_ being difficult? You two aren't doing what you're supposed to do! Let's start with you." The servine jabbed a finger at Foliga's side. "You can't seem to notice a _mystery dungeon_ right in front of you! And she," he jabbed at Ringer's direction, "is supposed to be following _me_ around! So the most I can do, is to tag along and make sure I'm not caught without her. So yes, I will continue to be 'difficult about this,' because apparently, things take a turn for the worse when I'm not!"

But before she could dig any deeper, Ringer had led them into a new room, and quickly discovered a way to descend deeper into the dungeon. "This way, and quickly, before the windmill decides to separate us."

* * *

 **Hollowing Windmill**

 **B2F**

* * *

By all measures of logic the three were underground. That did not stop the mystery dungeon accommodating light for them by having _windows from the outside._ Though they were drab and filthy, the windows were systematically spaced out along each corridor and allowed the trio to see their next steps. But the extent of the light only touched the planks, leaving loads of room for shadows, or wild pokemon to pounce out at them.

When Foliga would enter mystery dungeons, they were always lush, spacious, and dare she say _peaceful_ environments. The wild pokemon she encountered were also tame and small. The eeriness from the windmill showed no mercy at having a humongous pokemon charge at them from down an unsuspecting hallway. It was reminding her too much of the Pangoro that she and Ringer fought the day before.

Even Ringer was feeling the weight of the windmill, building her wingspan to lash out immediately at any sign of trouble. "It's beginning to look like my fears are becoming true," she said, sharing her thoughts with the two. "If it becomes too dangerous for you two, then I'll be sending you out of the dungeon before me."

Foliga thoughtfully kept to herself. The steel-type has been a stoic force that had guided her through a dangerous encounter in the last day, and even she was feeling the pressure caused by their surroundings. _And if RInger is getting wary here, then will we be okay? Will the three of us be able to stand against any group of wild 'mon in here?_ "Ringer, if you don't mind me asking, what are you afraid that we'll find down here?"

It made the Skarmory stop, and the rest of the party with her. "A mystery dungeon is no place for idle conversation," she said sharply. "I want both you and Septime to hold yourselves until the immediate threat is over. You should be keeping a constant eye out for wild pokemon."

"A-ah. You're right, I'm sorry." And she scolded herself for not realizing it herself. Not waiting until a better time to ask could have been—

"No, no, you are in the right," Ringer corrected softly. "I apologize. I shouldn't be secretive with something publically known almost everywhere else. You are good to be asking these questions. You should always." She collected herself, making sure that even Septime was paying careful attention. "Now, the biggest objective of our expedition here is to confirm the nature of this mystery dungeon. Destruction is spreading all over the world, and no one knows how it even starts. But mystery dungeons have always been involved one way or another."

"And you think it's going to happen here to Paradise Village?!" Foligag said tightly.

Ringer nodded grimly. "The only thing we're able to do is find the symptoms, and hopefully evacuate your village before it's too late."

"And this is happening in all sorts of places around the world, ruining 'mon lives? How come we haven't caught word of this sooner?"

"Because we live in the backwater middle of nowhere?" Septime said. It got a chuckle out of Ringer.

But Foliga was still reeling on the news. She was _not_ about to let her home get destroyed, or even under the threat of it, not on her watch. _And as long as I'm down here, in this mystery dungeon,_ she thought, _I gotta do all I can to save the 'mon trapped here, seed for destruction or not!_ The Chikorita spun her leaf, rejuvenating her to advance on, and suddenly she was the one leading the trio of pokemon.

Septime still carried no enthusiasm, being the last one to stomp into the room with the creaky floorboards announcing how behind he was from the other two. "Two floors and no sign of any wild pokemon," he pointed out.

"It happens," Ringer said simply. "Mystery dungeons are convoluted after all, and that includes the placement of the pokemon inside. Let's move on before one _does_ appear."

* * *

 **Hollowing Windmill**

 **B3F**

* * *

With her newfound vigor, Foliga led the group further down, confident in her observations of the dungeon until Ringer insisted that she took her place at the front. Interestingly enough, there was less of a need for them to stay in their single-file formation. As they trudged further and cleared more rooms Foliga noticed how the halls stretched wider, how the rooms lacked numerous load bearing pillars to look more like arenas. Even the systematic windows so prominent earlier were being seen less and less, limiting her vision to only her next few steps.

But the creaky boards never stopped. And the Chikorita always had to hear two pairs of footsteps come from her _alone_. On top of the pair coming from Ringer and Septime, the shifting woods echoed throughout the room. _It's a lot like being in Septime's house,_ she observed, _when someone is walking around in an upstairs room… Wait a second—!_

"Everyone, stop moving!" The creaking continued. Foliga scanned the floor, then the ceiling, then looked back to her allies. "Do you two hear that?"

No one spoke right away, trying to her what she had heard. Septime hissed. "Q-Quit making stuff up! I don't hear anything!"

"Stop moving around," Ringer said, "And you will."

"I-I 'ain't!"

Something dropped in Foliga's stomach. She twirled around to face where Septime should have been, and was instead greeted by a _whole new pokemon._ Its face steamed with rage by their mere presence in its domain, igniting itself and the whole room in fire.

Foliga tensed, recognizing the wild pokemon as Heatmor, and panicked. _A fire-type? That's one of my biggest weaknesses!_ The grass-tyoe stepped a safe distance away and sprayed a barrage of leaves. The Heatmor puffed its cheeks, unleashing pellets of ember out its snout.

Their attacks collided midair. A billow of smoke rose in the center, signaling a stalemate between both of their moves. Foliga couldn't see far into the smoke, opting to wait anxiously on her end, waiting for it to clear…

With a feral cry, the Heatmor burst out of the smoke, arcing across the ground. both its arms were extended, and it was flying straight for Foliga. She took a pace backwards, readying her leaf like a bat to smack the Heatmor right out of the air—

In a flash, Ringer adeptly intercepted. She caught the fire-type mid-jump, each of its arms constrained by one of her talons. Then she breezed over the ground, and threw the wild pokemon back first into one of the walls. The Heatmor, as a desperate final attack, belched out a single round of fire. It was straight for Skarmory, who glided idly back to Foliga, believing the battle was over.

It was happening in less than a moment. Septime was the first to notice, and even then he could only watch helplessly and shout, "Hey Skarmory, _behind you_!"

Foliga knew Ringer could not look behind her _and_ move out of the way in time. When Ringer realized the warning, the fire was upon the steel-type, and she was forced to take the brunt of it. The Heatmor's attack burst on contact, and smaller rounds of flame flew everywhere. The Skarmory landed very ungracefully onto the floor but thankfully sprouted little injuries besides a blackened flank—

A new pain _scorched_ Foliga's front. She cried out in surprise, and toppled over. Where the Chikorita's hide would have been a pale shade of green, now looked charred and crisp, even billowing a small stream of smoke. When she was on her own feet, Ringer hopped towards the Chikorita to surmise her injuries. "A nasty trick some fire-types know," the Skarmory explained. "They launch a single flame, but rely on the shrapnel it bursts to cause damage."

Foliga groaned in effort to stand again. "Is the Heatmor staying down?" She looked towards the wall it laid against, thankful that it was unmoving and unconscious thanks to Septime finishing it off.

Skarmory glanced too, and scanned the rest of the environment. "It appears so. But we shouldn't stay here, in case our battle attracted any more wild pokemon." When looking at Foliga's charred injury, she added, "There's not much we can do for that burn. You'll have to walk it off until we make it to the next floor. Can you do that?"

"Hey, how about me?" Septime straggled over to them, sprouting injuries of his own. The grass-type's own leaves were on the spectrum between wrinkled or blackened entirely, uncharacteristically roughed up than Foliga was used to seeing him. "There's something you can do for our injuries, right Foliga?"

"Oh, that's right." Her energy was still easy to recall back from the rush of battle. She collected it to one point in her body, and with a steady huff, she let it out. Like a flower blooming in the spring, tiny pink spores fluttered the room, casting it in a faint glow. The spores found their way over to her allies, and seeped into their bodies. Septime's own recovery was immediately noticeable as his leaves grew out and replaced the old ones. And while Ringer's armor still bore dents and marks in it, she physically perked at the healing. When it was over and the spores disappeared, Foliga fell back to the floor, exhausted.

" _Thank_ you," Septime said. He was too used to the experience to always be amazed.

Ringer, however, looked over herself in silent awe. "Fascinating… You have an extraordinary ability. But it seems to certainly take its toll on you. Are you alright?"

"I'll be just fine…" Foliga stood back up. It was hard to concentrate on anything else but the searing pain of her burn. She focused on the trees ahead, on Skarmory who walked her through the mystery dungeon, the orange jewel from the meteorite, anything to move forward.

"Thank you for saving us. For the second time in all of two days." Foliga laughed feebly. "I need to be able to repay the favor down the line."

Septime charged forward. "You're thanking the wrong person! Who do you think it was that finished off that Heatmor when the two of you were down for the count?"

Ringer ignored him for the most part, still concerned over the tiny Chikorita. "Foliga, concentrate."

"I'm still right behind you guys, no need to fret about me…" True to Skarmory's words, the her vision wavered as she followed her companions through the now silent halls.

* * *

 **Hollowing Windmill**

 **B4**

* * *

When she was last here the windmill was full of dusty crates and barrels, most empty, some filled with unidentified cargo. The mystery dungeon had swept away those items making sure Foliga and her allies had an appropriate amount of space to explore, to fight if need be. But by this floor the storage was regenerating back into the layout. They were conspicuously placed in the middle of rooms, blocking their paths in the hallways, and occasionally stacked on top of one another to make a wall.

It freaked Foliga to no end. They stayed closer together to avoid getting surprised by anything lurking behind a corner. Septime was unfazed like always, drifting along and keeping his signature irritated composure.

When she was feeling better, Foliga decided that she needed to confront her fellow lifelong friend. If they were both going to the Copper Carvings with Ringer, then they needed to cooperate. Even if Septime never had an incentive to be friendly.

Practicing in her mind, she fell back to Septime and asked casually, "Are you ready for the Copper Carvings after this? I certainly can't wait to go."

The Servine scoffed at her. "You're still on this idea that you're going? You gotta understand something about this whole arrangement; this is a one 'mon job. There's no 'we both can go' nonsense. Everyone's saying that you can't anyway."

She frowned, but refused to drop the subject. "Okay, so a lot of 'mon have said that I can't join you guys. Including you, the Superior, Ringer…" Foliga looked at the Skarmory, who did not react at the mention of her name. "What if I took your place to guide Ringer's friends? You certainly don't want to go, and I'm sure that I can do an acceptable job in your place."

"And what makes you think that I don't want to go?" Septime asked quietly, leaning against one of the barrels that were as tall as him, and crossed his arms. He had said it so monotone that she initially expected it to be sarcastic. But the Chikorita knew the other pokemon well enough to know when he was being serious, and for whatever reason, leaving with the Mountaineers mattered to him a _great_ deal. A rare moment that something actually mattered to him.

"Why would anyone want you over me?" Septime went on. "We're both grass-types, but I'm obviously the stronger one of us and also evolved. I have just as much experience as you do and I'm way more prestigious and welcomed… not to mention that I have a bit of _human_ in me."

Ringer stopped at this. She looked behind at them curiously, and Foliga filled her in quickly. "Um, Septime thinks that his family a human that saved the world at some point in time."

"It _is_ true!" he insisted. "But that isn't even the point. You fit in way better here than with the guild, and that's saying something."

"I think I could fit in well enough," Foliga argued softly.

"You're very presence would _demean_ every pokemon there!"

Ringer had remained relatively quiet during their exchange, but startled them when she bounded around, doing nothing more than staring keenly down on Septime. "If someone is being demeaning, it's _you_ and your attitude." And at her sharp intervention, the conversation ended there.

So now, the three explored without talking at all. She looked down in front of her, embarrassed. _If Ringer wasn't here,_ Foliga realized sadly, _me and Septime would be still be butting heads like a pair of Sawsbuck._ Besides keeping a lookout for any sign of enemies, there was not much left for Foliga to do than count the number of barrels against the number of crates. _Didn't take a number of stock this morning, so might as well do that now,_ she thought amusingly.

Foliga had counted up to twenty-three when the creaking began to happen again, and none of them were the cause. It was bad enough when it was a false alarm like in past occurrences, but the storage littering the room started rattling in unison, making a loud, clunky choir of noise. The three of them paused, looking around everywhere for the source of the sounds.

Ringer had stopped to look at Foliga… Actually, at _something just past_ Septime. "Be silent when you do this," the Skarmory instructed him. "Check that barrel behind you."

"Me? Are you crazy? You go look into that thing!"

"That doesn't sound like an attitude that the guild would appreciate," Foliga remarked. She took it upon herself to investigate.

The aforementioned barrel rattled harder and more violently than all the others, with its top off and propped against the side. Making sure where she stepped was silent, Foliga ventured to the foot of it, hoping that standing beside the barrel was far as she needed to check. Ringer and Septime remained a distance away, ready to fight if something popped out.

Foliga jumped up to the rim of the barrel and peered into it, hoping nothing was there…

It was a nightmare fully realized. Something was down there, with a bulbous body, and its multiple eyes were looking _right at her_.

"AAAHHHH!"

For whatever reason, it screamed right back. "WAAAAAH—!"

Whatever was in there flew out. She returned to her feet and saw how the pokemon inside darted around the room, crashing into walls, destroying a few crates, all the while sobbing uncontrollably. Septime drew out his vines in an attempt to lasso and control the pokemon. But Ringer had the same effect by the command of her voice. "Carbon, enough! You won't be harmed."

Amazingly, it had worked. After a few sniffs, the new pokemon stopped. It floated over to slowly inspect the Skarmory. "It's… It's you! Lieutenant Ringer! I've found you!"

"Yes, you have. Excellent work."

The Servine let his vines hit the floor uselessly. "You know this thing?"

Foliga stepped up to examine the pokemon named Carbon. He looked much less scary than she thought. What she took for eyes were actually small chunks of light blue ore inside one mass of _rock_. He reminded her of a Boldore, but floating. And it always excited Foliga when she encountered a new species of pokemon. "As long as he's a friend of RInger's, then I guess he must also be in the guild?"

The new pokemon turned to greet her. "You're exactly right! I'm Carbon the Carbink. Nice to meet you, Miss Chikorita." Carbon sounded cheery through his voice, and Foliga smiled back at him. _No 'mon has ever called me 'Miss' before. . ._

"Proper introductions can be done later," Ringer reminded everyone. "Carbon, there's a child in here with you. have you seen them? What happened?"

Carbon's eyes contorted into what Foliga could only interpret as pain. "Oh, Lieutenant, it was horrible! I only came ahead of the other Mountaineers to see if you needed help, and when I was looking around the village," he choked back a sob, "these children started throwing rocks at me, and called me the most terrible names!"

"Rocks don't look like they should be able to hurt you," Septime snidely commented.

Foliga looked at him. _You're the one that probably taught them to do that!_

Carbon continued his woeful story. "I saw the door to this windmill was wide open, and I ran in to see if anyone was here that could get them to stop. This place turned out to be a mystery dungeon! I think that first _little monster_ was able to get out, and the second one wouldn't stop. He might be on this floor. But that third one… That was not a little monster, not at all! He was huge! And very violent."

Foliga stepped forward, confused. "Unless I'm remembering incorrectly," she realized, "Didn't the Cubchoo that came to us only said _two_ followed Carbon? It and a Pansear?"

"Oh no, there were surely three of them. There was that Cubchoo, the Pansear, and the— THERE IT IS!"

 _THUD_ _._

Foliga and the others turned, and she was quickly greeted by a horribly familiar sight. In the darkness of the windmill, the group faced against the large silhouette of a _Pangoro._ Each step it took shook the floor and the storage around them all.

The Pangoro roared, starting to lumber its way directly for the Carbink, smashing its way through the crates and barrels in a test of its might. And it would surely smash all of _them_ when standing in its way.

"Don't get discouraged!" The Skarmory stretched her wings to rally the others. "We outnumber the enemy four-to-one!" She glided low to the ground, aiming for the Pangoro's legs. The grass-types got to work at launching their combination of leaves and vines, aiming for the pokemon's upper body and head when Ringer could not fly comfortably up to do so. Even Carbon put in his own work, using a technique that materialized many white-hot gems before launching them all at once in a spread.

But nothing was stopping the Pangoro. It just kept advancing, oblivious to the destruction it was causing to the storage. No matter how many rounds of stones or steel or leaves they used, all their attacks did was scratch it at _best,_ and enraged it more at _worst._ The group moved backwards to keep their distance from it until they were almost forced out of the room.

Foliga stepped back in dismay. _How is this thing withstanding everything we got? The one in the forest was_ _nothing_ _like this!_

Ringer was continuing the fight, again dodging and weaving through the Pangoro's grabs for her. One does connect, and she crashes into the ground with only the barrels to break her fall. From her spot in the ground, she called out, "Carbon, use the flash strategy!"

 _The… flash strategy?_

Carbon's eyes lit up in understanding. "Right! Chikorita, Servine! I gotta get in close to the Pangoro, and I need your help."

"Are you crazy?!" Septime said incredulously. "What are you gonna do to him, stub his foot or—"

"Look out!" Foliga screamed, barely enough time for them to hit the floor. A barrel soared overhead, and splintered into tiny pieces somewhere past them.

"And now it's _throwing stuff_ at us. How do we get past that?"

"All I need from you is to distract it. Just work together!"

That was easier said than done for them. Septime gave Foliga an unsure look, and she basically felt the same way. "C'mon Septime, we have to do what we can!"

Foliga rose to her feet, and she met the eyes of the Pangoro, it in turn giving her a sinister smirk. Seeing its next target, the wild pokemon brought both of its hands together, bringing both down on top of her. The Chikorita yelped, sprinting around its side to dodge and circling around to its back. The Pangoro _roared_ its frustrations at her, completely ignoring the Servine and Carbink closer by to demolish the Chikorita that had shamed it. The wild pokemon brought both its fists above its head to ready the attack again.

Septime snapped out his vines, successfully lassoing the Pangoro at his wrists and giving the time Foliga needed to avoid another hit. It became a brief tug-of-war contest before the two, before obvious winner was decided; huge wild pokemon pulled Septime right off his feet, swinging him around its side. The poor Servine crashed into every barrel that he was level with, before stopping with a painful _Oomph!_ and sliding down one of the wooden pillars.

Septime was dazed, but he still held onto his tassels still secured around the Pangoro's wrists. It roared in frustration again, but changed its target to _him._ "If you were gonna do something, now's the time!"

While the grass-types kept the Pangoro busy, Carbon was preparing his own technique. His gems sustained an unnatural light, and the Carbink himself looked bloated, ready to burst from whatever he was struggling to keep sustained. He dashed between Septime and the Pangoro, and yelled, "Here I gooooo—!"

"Look away!" Ringer ordered. "Close your eyes!"

Foliga had enough time to shut her eyes, but that did not help against the _pzzap!_ of while that flashed behind her eyelids. When she opened them again, Foliga was astonished that the Pangoro was stuttering back, rubbing at its unshielded eyesight. Septime was looking over the sight too, and quickly retracted his vines from the enemy to regroup with Foliga and Ringer. Carbon was still floating higher than anyone else, looking _very_ content with himself. All three watched the enemy momentarily as it felt around in its temporary blindness.

"The enemy isn't defeated," Ringer reminded everyone. "It won't stay in this state forever. Let's be on our way." She wasted no time going down one of the paths out of the room. And the three remaining pokemon wasted no time following her.

* * *

 **Hollowing Windmill**

 **B5F**

* * *

Foliga felt anxious for all new reasons, now that she sort through all her thoughts safely. "Is this windmill where that 'mon the day before came from? How come this one was so much stronger?"

Ringer hurriedly scanned the walls as she searched for more paths. Her reply came fast like she had been thinking the exact same question. "You forget an important aspect about mystery dungeons; their nature is to be unstable and unpredictable. That's why it's always better to traverse them in teams." When she finally did look back, it was to congratulate Septime on his performance. "You and Foliga are improving your teamwork," she told him, and the Servine only grunted tiredly in response.

"I'm improving my teamwork too, right?" Carbon added in. "I actually remembered what the flash strategy meant!"

The Skarmory appraised the small rock-type with a disapproving look from his declaration. "You still have a lot to answer for. When this is done, you will be disciplined for moving ahead of the guild when you surely weren't supposed to."

Carbon pouted even more loudly. "Aww, please, Ringer! I only wanted to help you—!"

 _Crash!_ "I FOUND YOOUUU!"

Someone let go a childish an exaggerated warcry following the sound of splintering wood. No one got the chance to react as something jumped into the party. A small blur of red latched itself onto the Carbink, and the added weight brought Carbon down onto the floor. Carbon and his assailant wrestled on the floor, his pleads for help against the sound of a toddler wailing on him.

"Here you are!" the hyperactive Pansear yelled. "I've lied in wait for what feels like an eternity! I'll make you _pay!"_

"T-The little monster's trying to p-pull out my gems! HELP!"

"Actually, keep him like that." Unfazed, Ringer pulled off her exploration badge pinned from her breast, and steadied it in the fold of a wing. She pointed the face of it to the pair, still rolling on the ground. "You and the child are both leaving the dungeon, and then you're marching back to the rest of the Mountaineers and telling Captain Ty exactly the situation. You will tell him that Ringer is inside the windmill, and no one is allowed in after us. He'll understand."

"Sure, but at least tear this guy off me—!"

Foliga had squint as a dense, yellow pillar of light extended from the endless ceiling and captured the Carbink and Pansear. The struggle of the two was muted by the sound of the power of the explorer device, and began to make a noise similar to steam as the pillar slowly started to shrink away. When the light had dissipated, Carbon and Simi were gone with it, leaving only the three.

The two unfamiliar grass-types were _very_ astonished. Ringer remained indifferent. "How is that possible..?" Foliga stammered incredulously.

Ringer let the Chikorita examine the exploration badge in her wing. Its metal was yellow like the light was. "Very special technology exclusive to explorers. I'm afraid I cannot answer any specific questions. Mainly because I honestly don't know the extensives myself."

"Whatever. But this means that our mission is a success?" Septime said hopefully. "We found Ringer's friend, and the Pansear. Can we leave the windmill too now, the same way they did?"

Ringer looked directly at him, and he grimaced, figuring out that he would not like her answer. "You already forget our second purpose for being here. We must reach the end of this dungeon, if possible." She turned her gaze to Foliga, regarding the Chikorita also. "I said that if things became too difficult, I could transport you out of the dungeon. Would like me to do so?"

There was no debate in Foliga's mind, and she shook her head. "Not if something at the bottom of this mystery dungeon is still threatening Paradise. I'll go with you to stop it."

But Foliga saw how Septime struggled to find his own answer. He looked down at his feet, thinking, and came up to Ringer to speak. But after he caught eyes with Foliga, his whole demeanor changed in an instant into what she was more familiar with seeing, when he was _blaming her_ for something. He placed himself further ahead of them, suddenly leading the trio. Ringer and Foliga gave each other concerned looks. "What are you waiting for?" he said impatiently. "I'll get us farther in the front. And quit giving each other those looks."

Ringer was more welcoming to the change. "Good. You are more than welcome take the lead for a bit." It was a wonderful start as Septime, Ringer, and Foliga began a _blitz_ through the dungeon.

* * *

 **Hollowing Windmill**

 **B6F**

* * *

 _Prrrrrp-prrrrrp! Prrrrrp-prrrrrp!_

"Oh great, I can't wait to see what distraction it is now," Septime said dryly.

Ringer ignored them both. She reached again for the explorer badge on her breast, and activated the device through the center gemstone, causing the chirping sound to stop. A new static sound replaced the chirping one. Both grass-types curiously followed, watching over from either side of the Skarmory as she continued to fiddle with the button and occasionally tuning it until the static began to grow softer.

"What's your badge doing?" Ringer brushed past the question, and walked around the room, until the sound started dissolving out.

" _Ringer, if—ar me, I ne—"_

"Woah!" Foliga exclaimed. "There's someone in your exploring badge!"

Ringer _choked_. "Oh no. No, no, no. The Captain has a badge like mine. These exploring badges are able to converse even when not facing one another."

"— _Ty here. I —need to—"_

Silence. Ringer impatiently shuffled her talons across the floor. Sometimes returning to a place she dismissed. The Skarmory began scratching the ground, and pulled up a chain to reveal a trapdoor, and a staircase going into the darkness below. "These don't work inside mystery dungeons," Ringer explained. "We must be nearing an exit." Further down, across those spiraling staircases, the fuzzy noise from her badge stopped entirely. She craned her neck tentatively over to speak into it again. "...Sir?"

" _LIEUTENANT!"_ The volume of the Captain's voice flooded the signal, causing another wave of static alongside Foliga and Septime to jump. " _It is good to hear you're doing well! Carbon told me quite the story of you and this dungeon, over."_

Ringer remained stoic as ever. "Carbon is with you? Over."

" _We've reached the village, as per your directions. Quite the run-in with the residents. Even found that Serperior you mentioned the night before—"_

" _Is that Ringer? Tell her I'll never forgive her for sending me out like that! Over and out!"_ A further, higher pitched voice cried on the other side of the line.

Grumbling at the Carbink, Ringer pushed further, multi-tasking the mystery dungeon while talking into the badge pinned onto her. Foliga and Septime quickly followed suit after her, with the latter glaring down behind the former. "Who else is there? Over."

" _Just a small welcome party. Our resident Minun is here for better reception. Plus the little troublemaker— YES, I MEAN YOU, CARBON! I had the rest of the guild standby by the edge of the village. They were spooking the locals, over."_

As the trio continued down, the darkness was becoming scarce, and a grey haze spread across the floor when light came through the windows. Ringer and even Septime were tall enough to simply wade through it while Foliga held her breath to avoid swallowing the dust and particles. The beams above and the columns beside the corridors were graying, decaying from whatever influence that the mystery dungeon was doing at a rate far faster than the ones on earlier floors. The dull clunking reverberated through the windmill in small intervals, as if the machinery inside was being revved up to work once again.

At the very least, it would _start_ to work. No one had stepped into the Hollowing Windmill for years, definitely before her lifetime. It was debatable if the Windmill even worked to begin with, just to stay as a broken in part of Paradise. Or that the windmill was there even before Paradise was…

"Captain, where are you positioned, " Whatever was causing the shift in the windmill, was sifting the mystery dungeon along with it.

" _I'm standing with Carbon right outside this here windmill. It's gathering quite the crowd. Do you need me to send in someone after you? Over."_

"No, that is not necessary." Ringer glanced at the two grass-types behind her. Then further off, looking for any signs of life onward. "I have that one potential recruit with me, over."

" _Now, lieutenant, if this windmill is what you expect, I ought to be sending in the whole company after you, over."_

"We're making fine track of our own. And I have reason to believe that we're almost at the end anyways— perfect." The next room had the stairs, in the dead center of the room. It was different than all the other ones, not being a spiral or a trapdoor, and even with its own set of railings that matched the greying wood of the rest of the room. The floor above was not darkened, giving a hint as what to expect.

"We're about to head back into the dungeon. I'll hear from you in person soon. Over and out." With another click of the exploring badge's button the voice on the other end cut out.

"Finally!" Septime sounded ready to hit the floor. He used both his hands to brace against the railing of the wide stairs.

"Not yet," Ringer warned. "There's one last thing we need to accomplish. Mystery dungeons like these never let the exit unguarded."

It stuck out to Foliga how _odd_ it was that they had been _descending_ staircases, when suddenly there was one that could take up. On top of the wide nature that none of the other ones had been like before. The three pokemon could stand in a row and not feel cramped at all. "What do you reckon is going to be up there?" she asked.

"Possibly more pokemon. Or even traps."

Neither of those things were up there. Upon reaching the top, the three were introduced to the finer mechanics of the Hollowing Windmill. The stairs abruptly ended and dropped, the only place left to stand on was the great spur wheel that covered most of the floor, and nothing would catch them if they fell off. A giant rod that would connect to the sails was in the center, wide as a tree as it extended into nothingness. Gears connected to one another were dull and dusty or rusted shut altogether, long ago.

Every step Foliga took along the metal was met with a dull _clank_ against her toes. She teetered to the other side of the circular platform, quickly spotting another staircase leading down. "There might be a way out—!"

 _THUD_ _._ _THUD_ _._

The metal platform teetered back and forth, threatening to slide Foliga and her companions struggled to keep their balance at the shifting weight of the wheel. But the event ended soon enough, the platform stabilized, and the three pokemon were left horrified.

 _Two_ Pangoros had jumped onto the great spur wheel with them, one from the staircase they used and the second to block Foliga from using the other. Like in earlier fashion they were identical, tall, and leered down on the three with the desire to maul them _._ They enjoyed slowly advancing, trapping the three pokemon between them. The trio were back-to-back. Ringer stared down one by herself, even if it did not do much to intimidate the wild pokemon. "You two will need to handle one by yourselves. I'll take care of the other one."

Between worried glances, the Chikorita braced herself, rallying behind her leaf. Her Pangoro swiped horizontally, and she deftly swerved into the attack, going under its feet and out from behind. The plan remained that she could sneak in a couple hits when the Pangoro missed.

But _this_ one was much too faster than that, swiping at her again with the other arm. And this one connected, making her sight and body tumble out of control. The Chikorita rolled to a stop dangerously close to the ledge, feeling the gaps between gears.

"Foliga!" she heard someone cry, her head was too busy spinning to know for sure. The Chikorita struggled to stand right. With her out of the way, the Pangoro turned its attention to the remaining grass-type, effectively using the same wild swings to send Septime flying. He would always jump backwards, always barely avoiding the tips of the beast's fists. The Servine did not and _could not_ use his vines; it would be easy for the Pangoro to catch one and dangle him off the ledge of the platform.

At the other side of the great spur wheel, Ringer fought the second Pangoro, interlocked where not one got an advantage over the other. She kept up her sharp aerial maneuvers, getting put to the test when her opponent could match her rhythm. Unless someone got to help her, the Skarmory would inevitably be snatched right out of the air.

 _But Septime is in trouble, too!_ Foliga thought disparagingly. _I… I don't know how to help. Or where. Any useful moves I have might do more harm than good!_

When the Pangoro tried to smash Septime with a meaty fist, he maneuvered under its feet in a manner similar that Foliga did, but used the agility of his species to _slide_ away on his belly. The Servine moved the momentum of his slide into his tail to swing it forward, the move allowing him to stumble back onto his feet and scurrying away.

That maneuver he did not do often tired him. Septime scowled, and quickly made the time to brush off the flakes of dust and rust off him. "Anytime you wanna jump back in, Foliga?! Or stay out of the way, and I'll fight this one by myself!"

Foliga jumped back into the fight, beginning with flinging a dozen razor-bladed leaves at the Pangoro, some lodged into its skin. "You can't take on this thing alone! Leave it to us!"

Septime scoffed. "So you can just walk over me? Remember who got ahold of the first Pangoro? I can do more than you could ever—!"

 _Pow!_ A successful punch from the Pangoro was enough to shut Septime up, sending the grass-type crumpling to the ground. He groaned in pain, struggling to stand, but was less considered when the feral pokemon kicked him out if its way, focusing back onto Foliga. It growled at her, remembering the pain from the Chikorita's previous attack while pulling out the leaves still lodged in its body.

There was no room left on the platform to retreat. Foliga began to desperately fling more leaves at the Pangoro. _Ugh. I really need to learn new attacks._ And she could not try to go under it again. No way would it fall for the same trick thrice. Over the chaos, she actually yelled back, "You never even _saw_ that first one, because you tossed it to _me_ to do, remember? You think a guild will want a 'mon who doesn't do his work?"

The bulk of the wild pokemon was upon her, and there was little more Foliga could do than gasp. But something tugged the Pangoro back, stopping its movement. One of Septime's knots had caught around the pokemon's waist, traveling down to the floor and around the giant rod in the center of the platform, revealing where Septime stood heroically, grabbing hold of the vine with two hands and utilizing the pillar as a lever. Another tug of the vine let Septime topple the Pangoro onto the floor with not much effort with a mighty _crash!_

Seizing the opportunity for escape, Foliga bounded past the fallen pokemon and over to Septime. "Alright, now—"

He jabbed a finger at her. "You don't get to order me around! Can't you see what's happening? What you're ruining by being here?"

 _Why does he want to argue about this now?_ "Does it really matter which one of us goes with Ringer's guild? We find that meteorite and bring it back here."

"So you _do_ know, and you're doing it on purpose! That's despicable."

"W-what?! No. But that's what you do t _o_ me, all the time, _w_ hen you steal and take credit for my plans!, So, go ahead and consider this payback! Tagging with the guild was my idea long before you even knew about this!"

"I have ideas of my own! I've always wanted… was out of this stinking village!"

Foliga paused. "You want to leave Paradise?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Septime cried passionately. "I hate it here! I can't believe anyone could feel wedded to this place, like you or the Superior are. There's something genuinely wrong with you!"

She looked away. Ringer was desperately maintaining her aerial maneuvers against the second Pangoro, it was hard for Foliga could tell if she could pick up on the grass-types' conversation. _I kinda hope not. I just had no idea that…_ She snapped herself back into the present. "we need to hurry and help Ringer!"

Their Pangoro _roared_ , not pleased that the two were ignoring it. Recovering from its fall, it grabbed the vine around its waist and snapped it apart. Now free, the hulking pokemon quickly advanced on the smaller ones.

However, Foliga and Septime were on the same side. Where the two stood, each were perfectly at eye-level for one of the bipedal pokemon's knees. Foliga recalled the last battles against all the previous Pangoro; how Ringer sliced the first one's calves when they first met, how they left the second stranded behind rubble…

"Septime, we don't actually have to defeat it."

"Are you crazy?!"

For whatever reason, that made her laugh. "Just look around. We're on a platform above a pit!"

It was _her_ turn to attack. She forgoed any caution she had earlier; the Pangoro just seemed as surprised and forgot to make a grab for her, and Foliga was free to make her move. The Chikorita certainly did know other attacks besides utilizing her leaf, and she crudely tackled into the Pokemon's leg. But the weight of her body was enough, and she was successfully able to make the Pangoro fall on the knee.

Septime caught on quickly, and worked to do the same to the other one. He ran at full speed, and hopped shortly into the air, twisting his body to generate extra force into his attack, before lashing out with the flat side of his tail and the following destructive _chack!_ It did more than bring the Pangoro to its knees, even stuttering back.

And before it could recover, Foglia reeled back and tackled _again_. Her head and body began to hurt, but she knew she needed to keep going. In between hers Septime did his attack again, and it gave the Pangoro no room to grab them, too busy trying to maintain its balance, the spur wheel tremored at each step they made it take.

The very platform had sloped to a side, uneven from all their combined weight. It made Foliga and Septime's final attack all the more easier, as they combined their strength for the final push. They aimed dead-on for the Pangoro's chest. There was no place left for it to stand, so it leaned back, and kept going, and going, and going… It _wailed_ on its way down, and the sound of it echoed around them, softening and growing faint, until it was finally gone.

Both grass-types looked to one another, sharing their rare moment together. Their best moments truly were working to the same goal. Despite how one disliked the other, they could still set that aside. Even if only in the threat of a mystery dungeon. But it made Foliga smile all the same.

Ringer took a nasty hit from her Pangoro, flying jagged to avoid plummeting into the darkness below. In the nature of the one before it, the pokemon took its sweet time to lumber towards the disoriented Skarmory. It would give just enough time for the Paradise natives to spring into action."I'm going to try to make a tornado," Septime offered, stepping forward.

Foliga gasped, remembering the last time he used that technique. It could easily backfire on the Servine, tumbling him around before spitting him out and off the platform. "If you're really sure, then—!"

Septime skirted around and caught the Pangoro's attention. It took the bait, and the wild pokemon swung its trunk of an arm horizontally, which the grass-type had circled around it again, running and sliding into place thanks to his serpentine figure. And when it inevitably swiped again, Septime successfully dodged that too.

Their delicate exchange continued, and it all began to happen _faster_. Septime was quickly out-speeding the Pangoro now, giving up on waiting for an attack and circled around it in the blink of an eye. Foliga could feel the damp, static wind suddenly begin to pick up, whipping around to follow Septime's tail. He did not let up, and the gales began to encompass it. Before long, the Pangoro was trapped in the eye of a mini-tornado.

That was all it was able to do. The attack did not harm the giant pokemon, only impede its progress. The Servine stepped out of the tornado, careful to maintain it with his tail and hands. Then, Foliga scattered as many of her leaves into the tornado as she could manage to make. Septime's attack accepted hers, the two conjoining together to do more damage to the Pangoro than they would separately. Its roars competed with the hissing gales as the leaves sliced into its skin, just to whirl around and cut another point on the body.

Foliga continued to add more of her leaves into the tornado, the count of them doubled, then _tripled_. But the horrifying reality of their fight sank in. _No matter how many leaves I throw, I can't give anything more than papercuts!_ Septime was in no position to do anything than hold the Pangoro in place inside his tornado, otherwise risk letting it escape. And she couldn't pull enough strength within her to try blasting it with her solar energy…

Ringer careened into the air, a breeze building up below her wingspan. Foliga knew what would happen next, and shouted at Septime "Look out!" The Skarmory's winds were practically tangible, the crescent-shaped gales were on a scale much larger than her leaves, and twice as effective.

Under its immense strength, the gears surrounding them gave a _ker-chink!_ and the very platform everyone stood on began to _move,_ rotating clockwise from the exit. It hitched in a couple of places from the rusted places and unfamiliar movement, but the winds that all of them created could work the windmill. The great spoke in the middle twirled alongside the mechanism, and it resonated with the rest of the interior to carry the energy elsewhere, high above all of them.

When the winds finally disappeared, it brought the windmill to a slow halt, and dropped the unconscious Pangoro to the ground with a less than tender _thud_. "Did we win?" Septime asked.

The Skarmory touched back down to the ground with a tired huff. "I should hope so. This does appear to be the end of the mystery dungeon, after all."

It took a moment for it to sink in. And then Foliga was the first to celebrate, stamping in joy and waltzing around her fellow grass type. "Yay! We won! That was incredible. See what we can do if we both work together?"

His face contorted in a myriad of ways, not sure which one was more appropriate to show. "Just don't let this go to your head? I still have to face the captain of whatever, and the Superior?"

"We should leave. Our mission here is complete." Ringer was already heading towards the door. The two were more than happy to oblige, and they made their way to the staircase off the spur wheel. The final flight instead worked its way up, when all the others had always worked their way down, with simple railings to keep them all from falling off. _Which would imply that we're all underground right now. Even though there were windows. Hmm. Another mysterious thing about mystery dungeons, I reckon…_

"Now, hold on a second!" Septime realized. "What was the point of going all the way down here? We didn't discover anything, or do activate anything! What gives?"

"We are lucky that we didn't find anything." Ringer answered. "That is why this exploration was a success. Nothing here is out of the ordinary."

"We're in a _mystery dungeon_ ," Septime clarified. "What's ordinary about that?"

Foliga hummed in confusion. "Pardon, but Septime does share a point. The Hollowing Windmill really didn't have one before. You're saying we shouldn't be worried?"

She fixed her wings more comfortably, not bothered in the slightest by their co-interrogation. "First; this was a small leveled dungeon. We only needed to cross six floors before the end. This doesn't fit the frame of previous cases."

 _This one gave us so much trouble,_ Foliga thought, _just how much worse are the dungeons that do fit these previous cases?_

"Keep in mind that what I explain next is a working theory; no one can factually explain _why_ the spacial anomalies that we call mystery dungeons even _exist_ or what purpose they serve… One of the many consistencies between them is they don't appear where pokemon are."

"That doesn't explain why there's one in the middle of the village!"

"Actually, it kind of does." Foliga stepped forward, and the pieces started to slowly entwine together as she worked it aloud. "The Superior had said no one has stepped foot in here in forever. That could mean years."

"It doesn't really do a good lot to know that now though, does it?" Septime was getting antsy to leave, and Foliga could not blame him. By the time they finished ascending, it brought them back to the entrance of the windmill. She recognized the double doors that stood in front of her as their way out, and the real daylight, not light created by the mystery dungeon, was streaming through its outline.

Ringer let the two in front of her, and peered over their shoulders. "Have you two decided which should join the Mountaineers?"

Foliga glanced at Septime, and took in a breath. "I suppose," she said. But she did not feel so sure anymore, that it would _have_ to be the case.


	4. Foliga Goes with the Mountaineers

When she stepped out of the Hollowing Windmill, Foliga saw the crowd of pokemon standing at the edge of the dusty lot. Many were anonymous Lilligant or of the joint Vullaby-Rufflet flock, most likely just interested in seeing the uncommon species also gathered there today. Carbon the Carbink drafted aimlessly through the air, whirring happily at the sight the Mountaineers outside the windmill. The Superior himself also waited among them, his permanent frown targeted at the arriving party, and at her.

But the most prominent pokemon there was the one Foliga could not identify; A huge, bipedal creature reminiscent of the Pangoro she was just fighting. It had thick, green, armor-like hide that bore no shine like Ringer's did, with an exception of its blue colored belly to not restrict core rotation. Holes in its armor supposedly did the utility of regulating air, and the two for eyes were forever a intimidating glare. And on its chest was another one of those exploring badges, identical to Ringer's.

However, the huge pokemon bounded to them, shaking the earth with each step, and delivered a big, toothy grin."Lieutenant! Welcome back to us!" Then it scooped up the Skarmory effortlessly into an all-encompassing hug. Foliga giggled at the display. Septime made an uneasy noise.

She rigidly accepted the fate. "Captain," Ringer said in a tight voice, "It's good to see the Mountaineers here. And hopefully together. Have the villagers been any trouble?"

Foliga recalled what the Skarmory had mentioned the earlier night. This 'mon was a Tyranitar, wasn't it? He's huge! Huger than the Superior!

"Oh, the locals aren't that bad. Definitely not how you painted it out to be when I called last night. There was a much bigger crowd here until you were able to get the windmill running."

"The windmill started to turn?" Foliga asked incredulously.

The Tyranitar put his attention onto the tiny Chikorita. "It was quite the event of the village today. Tons were here, until whatever you did in there."

Carbon cut his way between them. "And then I told my story, and then I got that Pansear in trouble with his mom, and then that Serperior came over and started yelling at us! And when the sails started turning, the pokemon went crazy! Thought it was haunted! Some were running in circles—!"

"Hush." Captain Ty used his large clawed hands to hold the Carbink in place. "Don't forget that you're in trouble for disobedience. And since withholding dinner failed to teach you… this time I'll be docking your pay."

"N-no! Please!"

He laughed, and tossed the floating pokemon over a shoulder. "Now, let me apologize at my display. I might not be doing a great job at advertising my guild to my potential recruit!" Captain Ty knelt down to Foliga.

"She's not your recruit!" Septime said. "I am!"

The Tyranitar heartily patted him on the back, but even that was too much for the grass-type, who almost fell forward. "Welcome to the family!"

With a carefully timed a-hem! the Superior stepped forward. His eyes drifted across everyone there, as if he could not decide a single target for his glare. "Septime, " he began, "You were supposed to make sure that our guest for the day wasn't put in danger. That you weren't put in danger."

The Servine's reply was lost under his breath as he mumbled something about enabling.

"And you," the Superior hissed at Foliga, "you had one job. And not only did you fail, but you opened a mystery dungeon to the public!"

Foliga took a big breath. "I was just on my way to find help—"

"You failed, both of you, to complete the most simplest of instructions time and time again!"

"And how was she supposed to know what she would find down in the Windmill?" Ringer challenged.

It struck a chord within the Serperior, and ignored everyone else but the Skarmory. Suddenly, the two pokemon were staying each other down, just like they had the night before.

Captain Ty stepped around, becoming a wall between the opposing sides. He clasped his hands together pleadingly to the Superior, who was abruptly taken back by the gesture. Foliga had to look around the Tyranitar just to see the rest of the conversation. "On behalf of my lieutenant, please accept our heartfelt apology for our behavior. We carried no intention of stirring any trouble in your village."

The Superior still did not step down from the larger pokemon, and jabbed the end of his tail into the other's colored belly. "Your presence here is enough to stir trouble. One of yours endangered a number of mine!" He pointed to the Hollowing Windmill for emphasis.

"You said it!" Carbon agreed with a huff.

"Hush," Captain Ty said again, pushing the Carbink away. "Now then, Mister Superior, I see where we may be at fault. I'll gladly remedy that problem But don't you see that your village has been plotting endanger all of mine? You're a pokemon of your word, are you not? Didn't we agree on having quarter from our travels?"

Never before had Foliga seen the Superior so stumped. "Well, I most certainly do— I did."

"I was informed that my company were given a certain windmill to call a home for a few days and nights. But it seems now that won't be the case anymore, will it?"

"It's perfectly livable, some areas will need to be cut off however—"

"You intend for us to sleep near a mystery dungeon? What of our plans?"

"Plans can change!" the Superior roared.

"Ah-ha!" said the Captain, victorious. He did daintiest smile he could perform with his sharp rows of teeth. "So perhaps, we could open the floor to discuss a new plan?"

Foliga felt her mouth hang open. Did he… did this outsider actually get the Superior to admit he was wrong ? Whether it was by his own persistence, or his intimidating size, the Tyranitar had managed to convince the most morose pokemon Foliga ever knew to change his mind. Possibly Septime could come close to such a feat, only because of the graces of being his son. Anything she wanted to accomplish had to be from his credit.

But if he said that the floor is open to anyone, then…

"Why don't you all leave Paradise Village, and be on your merry way." The Superior's new proposal lacked any opening for discussion.

"And what of the Copper Carvings? The meteorite? And my new recruit?"

"My conditions are: you never show your faces here again. You can go through our entrance to the Carvings, and exit the other side," he glanced at Ringer, "no matter how bad it actually is out there. And keep the meteorite, it's yours. I don't care about it, never did. Just a bunch of 'mons telling me how much I should."

He also batted Septime forward with his tail. "Also, you'll still be taking this one with you."

Ringer gave her own worried glance at Captain Ty. Then a quicker one to Foliga. And she knew why, but that would not stop her. She would make sure that herself and Septime would get what they dreamed. Above all the talking between the others, Foliga cried, "Please, let both me and Septime lead them to the Carvings!"

Pause. Foliga could feel the eyes of everyone on her. And on top of that, there were all the pokemon who were still random bystanders watching from the other side of the lot. It took everything she had from shuffling back, embarrassed, realizing that maybe I should've waited for a better opportunity…

The Superior then guffawed at her. "Absolutely not. You are not going with them, and wasting time when there's still work you need to be doing."

"Sir, I promise, this won't be wasting anyone's time. Look!" Messing with the strap of her bag, she slugged it to the ground and dug through to find the orange meteorite jewel. The Chikorita presented her prize for everyone to see as it glinted orange hues under the sunlight.

Captain Ty, in particular, gave the more dedicated appraisal as his Lieutenant. "This artifact is priceless . And as I hear it, this only came from a fraction of a meteorite…" He sighed heavily, bending down to meet her at eye-level, or rather, as much as he could manage. "Your experience with the Carvings and the meteorite would surely come in handy, I'm sure, but… I'm afraid I've arranged your Servine friend a job in my Mountaineers. I would certainly accept both of you, but there's no way for me to comfortably provide for two new recruits, just the one…"

"Captain." Suddenly, Ringer jumped forward. "If you must choose one," she objected. "Choose Foliga."

With only that, the Tyranitar did a mighty shrug. "With that being said, I am open to the idea—"

"Foliga!" Septime cried angrily. "How could you?"

"You meddling OAF!" the Superior called. "What about all your high-talk about 'keeping arrangements?! The only one you're allowed to take is the boy. Not the girl."

"I'm not taking anyone with me," Captain Ty said bluntly. "No one is being forced to come along." He considered everyone around. "I think I've had enough of the air in this region… Do we even need to spend a single night here, Ringer?"

The Skarmory blinked. "No. We don't."

"Well then! I guess we'd better be on our way. After you, everyone." With a huff, the Mountaineers collected themselves into their own group and set out, heading down the highway for where Foliga knew to be the Copper Carvings.

In a last ditch effort, the Serperior slithered around to cut off the Captain from proceeding any further. "How dare you belittle my authority?! No one takes a step further without my permission!"

Captain Ty merely chuckled, as his and the rest of the Mountaineers' presence bore down on the fully evolved grass-type. "You don't have authority over any of us, sir, or what we decide to do."

The Superior recoiled back but said nothing else.

"…As I thought. Young Servine fellow? This would be the time to follow, if that is still your intention. We welcome your company!"

Without hesitation, Septime scampered after them, and never looked back.

"Miss Chikorita? Will you be joining us too?"

But Foliga held back. Suddenly, she was standing in the middle of a large gap between two groups: one led by the Tyranitar she had only heard about until now, who carried away Ringer and Septime with him; and the Superior leading another, with a unanimous crowd of people that may not know or like her, but knew she would always help. And every moment that passed, she knew, was making that gap bigger.

"Foliga," the Superior called out one last time, "if you step out of this village, even without those 'mon, you will never be welcome back into Paradise."

The sun's going to set near the Copper Carvings, near the meteorite. The thought came distantly, like someone said it remotely in her mind that helped put things into perspective. Ringer is going there, and so is Septime. We were able to discover what was at the bottom of the Windmill together. Can I, and should I trust some 'mon that I still know really nothing about?

* * *

 ** _Chapter_** ** _4: Foliga Goes with the Mountaineers_**

* * *

She could do it. She felt confident. She told herself over and over again, that it would not be too big of a deal. Go with the Mountaineers, get the meteorite, receive her share, say her goodbyes… and then march right back to Paradise. When he becomes swarmed with those perfect spherical jewels like her orange one, the Superior would surely pardon her for the insubordination.

For the time being, Captain Ty, Ringer, and the rest of the Mountaineers warmly welcomed her into the group, and she smiled at all the attention. She was surrounded with a bunch of pokemon she never met before, let alone knew what kind of pokemon they even were, who quickly accepted her and cheered. It did not matter where she came from before then. Some were as small as her, some tinier, and some were as big to rival Captain Ty himself. But somehow still she had melded into them.

The group that had entered Paradise Village eventually met with the rest of their guild, and that was when Foliga really saw how big the Mountaineers really were. The highway was filled with pokemon all shapes and sizes, forming caravan where everyone had a job, or a cart to pull. In some form or another, everyone found a way to help. This doesn't look too much different than the bulletin board during the morning rush at Paradise!

She found another floating drab-colored pokemon, who used its arms to distribute different items into their respective carts. "Uhh, good afternoon!" she said to it.

The pokemon grumbled, still devoted to its work.

"Hi, this might be an odd time, but what kind of pokemon are you?" she asked.

"Geodude," it said.

"Nice to meet you, Geodude! …Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

Are you sure? I'm good at this kind of work, so maybe—"

"I said I'm fine, thanks."

"Right. Uh. Sorry to bug you! I'll see you around?" Foliga quickly scurried off before she made herself say anything more. When she was far enough away, she dug her nails nervously into the ground. Maybe I should find Ringer. Or Septime, or the Captain, or Carbon, or a 'mon whose name I already know.

She had not heard or seen much of Septime since they had left Paradise, who stayed out of her view during their travel. Thankfully, she finally did spot him at the very tail of the Mountaineers, underneath a tree off the highway. Septime reclined in his signature way which meant he would not be very happy if Foliga started talking to him.

Nonetheless, Foliga called out "Septime!" and raced to see him. "I think you'd fit in nicely with these 'mon. This'll be like a fresh start for you, so you gotta impress them with everything you got!"

He sighed. Then in a quiet voice said, "I thought you said you wouldn't get in my way. Yet here we are. Here you are. Dooping everyone."

"Oh. Is that what you're worried about?" Foliga tried to laugh away the sudden tension. "I never said that I would go joining them. Just to the Copper Carvings, and that's it."

"They like you more than me." The Servine did not bother to lift en eyelid to look at her anymore. "They'll want you to join over me. Their Captain will side with his lieutenant, and she's already chosen you."

"I swear Septime, that won't happen! And if they do ask me to join, I'll just say no to whatever they offer. That'll leave you to do whatever you please." There's no reason we can't both get what we want. I'll help you find your dream, I promise.

He sighed again, as if not trusting Foliga's answer. But he did nod once and adjusted himself against the tree. "Fine. Whatever."

"So then… what've you been up to? Just lounging here for the time being? All the other 'mon have things to do, and I can't help but feel odd not doing something when I see them working so much—"

"If you don't mind? If you won't leave, I'd rather enjoy the peace and quiet."

Foliga heard the flapping of wings, and looked up to see a familiar Skarmory land perfectly between the two grass-types. Septime looked up to undoubtedly scold whoever was disturbing his aforementioned peace, and grumbling when he too saw who it was.

Ringer adjusted herself in front of them, and looked stern at them both. "It's taken me too long to locate you two. They Captain requests you at the front of the Mountaineers with himself. The team leaders are gathered and ready to be briefed on the Copper Carvings."

Foliga nodded. "We'll head up to him right away."

"We're going to be giving a briefing?" Septime said. "I don't think either of us could be prepared to do one."

"Not exactly. We just need your expertise at safe routes through the Carvings. Identifying those on maps. Foliga can help pinpoint the exact location of the meteorite for more accuracy…" Ringer singled out the Servine, looming over him ominously. "Just so you are aware, Septime the Servine; the Mountaineers operate jobs differently than your village does. And in some aspects they are the same."

"Of course," Septime said with the corner of his mouth.

"You will be expected to work. I won't accept your child-like petulance among our ranks."

"Sure."

"Good." The Skarmory readied her wings to take off once again. "I must check on the rest of the caravan. You two report to the front, and work with Captain Ty."

After splitting off, Foliga and Septime indeed worked to the front of the Mountaineers, and greeted favorably by the large Tyranitar. They were surrounded by another array of powerful-looking pokemon that Foliga had no idea the names of. But after a hasty introduction, she was shaken like a leaf by a Bastiodon, an Excadrill, something called a Mudsdale, a Dugtrio… Foliga resolved to commit them all to memory.

Captain Ty had procured a very detailed map of the Copper Carvings, and Foliga was astonished to see a map of the place even exist. But at her closer inspection… it was too outdated. Oh, it correctly had the entrances to the mystery dungeon that weaved through the place, but the roads the map claimed to say branched off she knew to be wrong. A certain road suffered a collapse and beyond repair, and another road actually snaked to be the path to the wrong end of the Carvings. Thankfully, the Mountaineers were used to obstructions such as large boulders and caved-in paths, and assured her that it would be no problem to clear them.

As it would be, there were enough teams to take on one path each through the Carvings to save time. When one happened across the evidence of the meteorite, they would alert the Captain through the use of their exploring badge, which they too happened to all have, and then regroup to begin the excavation. Foliga would be in the Captain's own team, which also included Carbon. Septime however was sorted into Ringer's own team, apparently as a request from herself.

Now technically being part of the excavation allowed Foliga access to all the Mountaineers' supplies. She enthusiastically gouged her then-empty exploring bag into carrying a bit of everything. Including berries, some seeds, wonder orbs, and a few fancy fabrics that, according to the Diggersby distributing them, held useful properties against the hazards in the Copper Carvings. The weight disturbed her at first, but braced to carry it all anyways.

That also meant Foliga got to walk right at the Tyranitar's side, and feel the tremors that he made with every step as he bounced happily along the highway. "This is exciting!" He expressed. "Not many guilds, not many pokemon in general can say they've done what we're about to do. The last time this happened, and gotten recorded at least, wasn't since I was just a Larvitar!"

"What else from the meteorite can we expect?" Foliga asked.

"I'm not quite sure what exactly we'll find," he replied honestly. "Not everyone has had the idea to mine from a meteorite before, Speaking of which… There's a big request I need to ask of you. Just you." He held his hands together, pleading for Foliga to hear him out. The sudden way of how the Captain lowered his voice really got her attention, and she looked up at him, concerned.

"Could I hold onto your orange jewel? Just for the time being?"

It was somehow too tall of an order. Foliga knew it should not have been. But her reply was on the edge of her mouth, to say no way before she needed to snap herself into honest thought. "If only I can get it back by the end of the excavation. I'm quite attached to this particular one…"

"Of course, of course…" Like that, The Chikorita went for her bag, pulled out the mysterious meteorite jewel, and delivered it into the Captain's awaiting had, who dug it deep into his own bag slung around his shoulder. It gleamed wonderfully for her even with the brief moment it touched the sunlight. "Thank you. Even if we come across nothing, or even an empty shell of a meteorite, I'll be sure to return this one to you."

"Empty shell?" Foliga inquired.

"As in, nothing was there to begin with. It could get worse than that, still…"

"Worse how?"

"Well, a pokemon out there could've wised up, and went to look for our meteorite, just like we are. And if that's true, then we're racing them for it. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

She hummed in amusement. "It does sound fun. But could that really be the worst thing possible?"

The Tyranitar chuckled deep in his chest. "You sure like to ask questions. I should be the one interviewing you. Besides, I should know a bit more about my potential recruit!"

A small, tiny bit of her felt bad that he, and even Ringer, still believed she would join the Mountaineers. This is what Septime would call dooping, right? On the other hand, It might be nicer to not tell them just yet.

"So, let's get the easy one out of they way. What exactly was your job before you came with us?"

"Anything, really." Everything, she added in her mind. "A Bulletin board in Paradise let 'mon who request help doing their own line of work, so I just pull a letter off it and… just do it? The board posting is open to everyone. One day I might be sorting inventory, or repairing a bridge. But I also have experience in mystery dungeons! Just, though, the ones near the village." Now she was saying it out loud, it no longer sounded that good of a selling point.

"That's right. Paradise had all those plots of land for just about everything. Pretty self-sustaining. So there's not much reason for anyone to be leaving. So!" He clapped his hands together. "That leads into another interesting topic. How did you come by there?"

Foglia paused. It was not that she minded being asked that one. But it surprised her about how many pokemon wanted to know. "I'm not too sure what you mean. I've always lived in Paradise. It's my home."

The Tyranitar fluctuated between many expressions, trying to reach a single one to portray. When he did settle on one… "Oh. I'm terribly sorry. Ringer gave only a mention of your situation."

She made her own face at him. "Situation?"

"Well, in a fairly isolated village full of pokemon like Serperior, Sawsbuck, Pansear, Pawniard, but a single Chikorita?"

Her continued look had answered his question fine enough. "What I mean to ask is, what, or rather who, is responsible for bringing you to Paradise Village? You couldn't have originated there. No one has ever spoken a word to you where you came from?"

Of course she tried asking. Always having to be careful asking the wrong pokemon, or starting a rumor about herself in the process limited her when considering who to ask. She could never even begin to consider confronting the Superior. And Septime would not surely know. In the end, she shook her head in response to the Tyranitar.

"I see. Well, if we do end up needing you after this, I would be honored in helping you search for your answer, wherever it might be! For all we know, someone could be searching for you in turn! Ringer tells me of your healing prowess, is that true?"

She nodded. "I've sort of always known how to do that. No one taught me."

"That narrows down our search! A power like that is only inherited, We can try asking around Serene Village, or Blossom Village. But our best luck is at Bargain Town!" He looked into the distance, pleased with his own idea. "Bargain Town is getting so big, it's about ready to be called Bargain City. So, the best chance to find a lead is there. The Mountaineers have business awaiting us there too, so there'll be plenty of time to investigate. What do you think about that?"

"That… does sound interesting. Thank you." However, she knew deep down it was a fantasy at best. And as for the moment, she was set just on retrieving her meteorite, and her jewel.

Continuing forward, Foliga saw how the scenery shifted from the familiar greens of the highway to the less-familiar drab of the Copper Carvings. Trees between were smaller and becoming sparse, with little of the dark soil to grow properly in. The earth everywhere looked as dry and dusty as the roads everyone trampled to.

Marking the entrance to the Carvings was the natural bridge with no rails. It suspended a magnificent height, estimating a few good seconds of freefall over a river, one Foliga knew lead back to Paradise Village. A long time ago, a Samurott and his eldest Dewott claimed to had taken the plunge off, with their only evidence besides their word was to point where the a piece of the bridge had chipped from where they stood. Foliga and others had to stand guard in order to stop children attempting to do the same.

Once the Mountaineers carefully ushered themselves across, came the first group of branching paths, six in total. After that, each one of those followed another three or four branches, then some after that had another branch of three... Foliga counted up to at least fifty-eight different routes around the Carvings. That had gotten whistles out of the team leaders.

Thereby the reason for so many Mountaineers. It was impossible to hop onto another route. Each path hugged the side of the mountainside, leading to another ruin. It was vast enough to see other paths across the range, but the steep plunge into a unseeable end stopped anyone from crossing. And the threat of some being mystery dungeons stopped flying-types like Ringer from scouting ahead.

Captain Ty's team had been assigned a path that did not have a dungeon. Good, Foliga thought. Because I've had my fill of them, especially after the Hollowing Windmill! She even spent most of the path outside, under the wonderful afternoon sunshine. But In return, however, she suffered the crippling pace of the Tyranitar that was too wide for the too narrow roads. He partially slip off part of the ledge.

"If something ever happens to me, Ringer is promoted to captain!" He continued shouting his will even as the party helped him back onto the ledge. "Send my regards to my childhood friends! Say I loved them all equally!"

"Captain, please!" Carbon cried. The Carbink levitated the stones back together under his feet, as a makeshift platform to help lift him back up.

If I were to join, she mused, would every mission be like this? It's certainly funny to imagine Septime here, doing these things… He'd be less than enthusiastic, to put it lightly.

"Carbon, you cannot possibly know my struggle, since you can simply float everywhere." Once he was back safe on the path, he began to dust the dirt off himself. He nodded to them thankfully. "Now then, shall we proceed?"

The access to the Mountaineers' larter meant Foliga was allowed to a plentiful lunch, holding her apple in her leaf as they continued exploring. Everyone else began to eat their own snacks; the Captain swallowed a half-dozen apples procured from his own bag, working through them so quick that he did not need to chew, while Carbon needed help holding his, which Foliga obliged, since he did not have a table to eat on.

Eventually, the party reached a unique landmark, causing them to stop. Up above, near the tops of the loess, was a nearly-spherical chunk of sediment missing. Past that, a trail of boulders and debris led away. It reminded Foliga of the crash site when she found the smaller meteorite nights before.

"This definitely wasn't there before," Foliga remarked.

"So it wasn't? Delightful!" Captain Ty pulled out his exploring badge, and began the delicate process of fiddling with its knobs to mute the static noise. "This is Captain Ty. Everyone, put away your lunches, because my team has a lead. I need an update on everyone's status and location, over."

Pause. A whole bunch of pokemon's voices followed, one at a time, relying mostly positive news. "This is team leader Mudsdale. No difficulties on our end, over."

"Team leader Noivern here. Got a Swoobat with a broken wing after the mystery dungeon, over."

"Team leader Primeape, and a certain Bronzong, y'all know which one, was responsible for throwing my bag over—!"

"Lieutenant Ringer, reporting." Foliga perked up at the familiar voice. "Our map and your sighing leads to believe my team is the closest to the meteorite. We'll be there to secure it, over." The thought that someone would soon see the meteorite, even if she was not the first, got Foliga's heart racing.

"Sounds excellent!" Captain Ty said. "Regularly update me on your whereabouts. Especially when you actually lay eyes on it, over."

After an audible scuffle over the exploring badge, Ringer added, "You should know that your team is second closest. Foliga would be interested in learning that, over."

"The worst is almost behind us!" The Tyranitar patted Foliga on the back, causing her to almost fall forward. "We'll conform with your team as soon as possible. Over and out."

They avoided more of the crumbling cliffs and dismissed the ancient carvings in the walls, focusing solely on the winding road ahead. When they entered the Copper Carvings, it could have been no later than mid-afternoon, but by the time they came to the fork turning into Ringer and Septime's path, the sun now drew close to the edge of the sky, and they were hidden in the shadows of the mountains.

Soon, they arrived at the last intersection. According to their copy of the map, Foliga was one turn away from the meteorite. She could barely hold back anymore, and she bounded forward ahead to see, climbing the final incline to overlook the landsite.

The meteorite was already loaded up onto one of the empty carts, which somewhat disappointed her. She could still see the exact spot where it had crashed, how it scorched and tore the earth into a landing strip, just like the smaller one did. The pokemon in Ringer's group that crowded around it were gossiping loudly, and the ones in Captain Ty's mingled to do the same. Foliga moved forward, quiet and alone, to get the closest look she could.

It's almost exactly like the other one! It even had a chunk of it missing, as if that was where Foliga's meteorite had belonged. Although this one was bigger in scale, it carried a sandy texture and as black as darkness could get.

Septime had picked her out of the crows and went to her side "I found you your meteorite. No thanks to you, of course."

Foliga was just happy to finally have it, at last. "Oh Septime, thank you!"

At the familiar sound of flapping wings, Foliga heard Ringer land on her other side. "You have done a sufficient job so far. Don't spoil it just yet."

"Lieutenant! Mission accomplished! Very proud of you all." The Mountaineers cheered Foliga joined in, which earned her an odd look from the not-participating Septime. "So, who's ready to crack it open?"

"There are complications," Ringer said. "The meteorite has resisted our attempts at doing such. No techniques of our have been able to break the crust."

"Not even Excadrill? Hmm…" Then the Captain turned to her. "Young Chikorita, You managed to open yours on your own. What technique did you use?"

But before she could even think about it, static erupted from the exploring badges. And unlike the previous ones, it blared a high-pitched tone that pierced the ears. "This is team leader Lucario! Does anyone copy?! There are others in the— AAAARGH—!"

BOOM.

The Mountaineers went silent, and everyone quickly turned to the sound to see a flash of light, far off on the other end of the Copper Carvings. Smoke soon followed the explosion, following a chain of smaller, but bright flashes. The voice on the other side of the exploring badge never came up again. A chilling silence befell the crowd.

Captain Ty's disposition changed considerably, and he broke the silence. Foliga could swear that the massive pokemon somehow bulked even more his spikes stuck out like one could with hair. "It's come to this… Mountaineers, to arms! If it's a fight these others want, then let's take it to them!" The crowd rallied behind him:

"They'll pay for this!"

"No one hurts our family!"

"Sir," Ringer reminded calmly. "the meteorite. We don't know who they are, their numbers, or their intentions."

The Captain turned, considering his lieutenant. When he made his mind, he shook his head grimly. "Please calm yourself, lieutenant. I'll take our joint teams out. You… you must stay here, and those two also," he gestured towards Foliga and Septime, "you must protect the meteorite."

Foliga gulped, hard. Just treat this like any other sentry duty job. This isn't different than that.

To the two grass-types he said, "this looks like your true field test! Let's see how you both do, Hmm? Chins up! You just need to hold out here so we can find you again. Sounds easy enough, don't you think?"

"S-Sure," Septime answered. Foliga hastily nodded along.

With that, the small sect of pokemon led by Captain Ty charged down the path, leaving Ringer and Septime and Foliga to bake in the silence. Now without the company of the others, Foliga truly felt the eeriness of the Copper Carvings in the approaching dusk. How vulnerable it was to be out in the open like they all were. No more voices came from Ringer's own exploring badge, delivering news of the conflicts to the other teams, leaving them truly in the dark.

The only comfort she could soon have would be the stars, the ones that had set her on the path for the meteorite. Only a few were visible in the current hour. The bustling smoke blanketed the majority of the sky, purposefully denying her vision of the one site she was entitled her entire life to see, until now. But her fear wormed into every thought she had. Who who else could want the meteorite this badly?

Septime paced anxiously back and forth. He jumped whenever another loud boom! echoed throughout the Copper Carvings. "I swear, those are getting closer and closer." Then he spun and pointed to Foliga. "This is your fault, you and your stupid fascination with this thing! Whoever those 'mon are, they probably followed us all in!"

"They can't be behind us," Ringer reasoned, perhaps to herself, or to no one in particular. "We made sure no one was trailing us, not since we left Bargain Town… They must've braved the dungeons from Seafoam Village's entrance to intercept. It's the only explanation…"

Seeing Ringer this tense, to the point where she babbled aloud, made Foliga feel no better. She huddled in the cart, her back protected by the meteorite as to make sure nothing could sneak up on her. As the night grew darker, the flashes of battle lit the mountain ranges even brighter. Maybe the battle really is getting closer.

"Those explosions… They may not know where the meteorite exactly is. But they know we're here, and most likely assume that we have the meteorite…"

The Servine made a disgruntled noise. "If they're doing this for some rock from outer-space, then just let them have it!"

She leered at the smaller pokemon. "That cannot happen."

"Ridiculous! So the only other option is just throwing ourselves at them?"

"Yes. You already have an inkling why if what your claim to heritage is to be believed." She stepped closer to him, who said nothing in return. "Maybe some of those stories are false. But this one is the only thing from stopping a calamity."

Foliga looked up. At first, she was afraid that the two would fight, and it would be up to her to somehow stand between them. Ringer's cryptic words somehow reached the Servine. Even when the two last looked so coldly at each other earlier. It was just not like him to consider any other pokemon with an even look. "Everyone—"

"Do you now understand what you can do? This isn't something I can order of force you to do."

"I— Yeah. I'll do it. I'll go with you."

"Please, wait!" Foliga hopped off the cart and it shifted under her, causing to stumble out and almost fall over. She dashed before the pair. "What are you two planning on even doing?"

The two evaluated her, then each other, in unison. "Septime and I reached something of an understanding," Ringer answered. "We'll be heading for the battle. Now there's something we can do to help."

Foliga still shook her head. Please, don't leave me on one side of a conversation like this. "What do you mean, 'help?'"

"Just move out of the way, will you?" Septime said, rolling his eyes. "Before I change my mind."

"You all can't just leave me here alone! I'm coming too!"

"I apologize. But someone needs to stay here. And all you'd do is slow us down." Ringer bent down to the Chikorita's level, an odd change for the Skarmory who was always so rigidly taller than her. "Foliga… you might have the hardest job of us all. You need to keep the meteorite safe. But even more important than that… you need to keep it a secret. Do you understand what that means?"

She was frozen in place, wide-eyed. But she knew better than to second guess Ringer. So Foliga made herself nod once, painfully slow. There was nothing she could do or say to change their minds. They trusted me, back in Paradise. Now they they trust each other, and now, I need to trust them.

Before they disappeared into the sounds and lights of the raging battle, Foliga cried, "Septime! Please be safe!"

Surprisingly, he indeed turned to her, and gestured back in reply. "I'll be fine. I still got a bit of human in me, don't forget that."

And then it was just her, alone in the dark. Foliga still had the meteorite, however at the cost of her company. The sun was at its last glimpses of daylight, and she would soon be at the mercy of the shadows and night.

What if the Mountaineers lose? What if seeing Ringer and Septimes' backs walking down the trail would be that last time she ever saw them? If those vicious 'mon find me, I might not be able to defend myself. They would have broken the Mountaineers in order to do that.

She no longer fet safe in the meteorite's landing site. There were two exits out of it, one that lead to the battle and the other away from it. Still, having two ways to be ambushed from were never good. By that logic, staying on the roads and maneuvering around would better her chances at not encountering anyone.

Surely doing that would be as safe as getting back to Paradise Village. Besides, she reasoned with herself, Ringer never specified that I had to stay in one place. Maybe Captain Ty would be upset. He'll understand. I hope.

The Chikorita moved to the end of the cart, and pushed with all the strength she could muster. It did begin to move, however unbearably slow. Back in Paradise a few trees would be cut to roll heavy objects like the meteorite along the ground. That process, Foliga assumed, would not work the same in the Copper Carvings' uneven and rocky terrain.

She knew which way home was, and took the paths in the forks that would lead there. The trouble was when she needed to climb uphill; that was impossible with the meteorite, and in the end, she just turned around for the fork and tried another direction. When the road began to narrow—

Crack.

Suddenly, the weight of the cart behind her shifted. Foliga was slowly dragged back… she turned to see, that the road was crumbling. The cart's back wheels were already dangling off the edge. Foliga summoned the last of her power, anywhere she could find it, to pull.

Then, the meteorite rolled to the back, turning the tug-of-war contest for the cliff's favor.

The earth beneath her began to shift, then sunk. She saw the road ahead grow taller, and farther away, as the cart dragged her down into the Copper Carvings. "Ow! Hey! Youch!" She hit her head. Then her side. And her head again. She rolled painfully down for what seemed like a humiliating eternity, before the ground was flat again, and Foliga was allowed to roll to a stop.

Foliga was mostly unscathed. The bruising on her body was something she had to walk off, her healing ability would allow to use it on herself. She scrambled for the meteorite. In the fall, the cart was absolutely obliterated, broken into tiny planks and generally untellable of what it was had Foliga not seen it before. The meteorite itself, in stark contrast, was perfectly intact.

She needed to catch a few loose breaths. She would have to push the meteorite down the trail. But without the cart, it was impossible to even budge. Foliga tried harder and harder.

"Move. We need to get… out of here." She hung her head as she talked, still continuing to push.

The meteorite relented still.

"Please. Please. It's not safe here!" Foliga began to feel the lingering pain of her bruises, and it brought tears to her eyes, among other things. "I'm begging now, it's time to get moving!"

Crack.

Foliga gasped, not ready to fall down a second time. She looked anxiously at the edge of the cliff, ready for it to collapse a second time, but saw nothing to suggest it would happen again. Then she finally noticed the meteorite itself.

A thick line etched around the meteorite, like a cracked egg. Streams of light poured out of it trying to escape. The rock began to shake, and crumble in the development. Then the line began to grow and branch off to eventually encompass the meteorite in a web of etched shapes. Foliga closed her eyes from the light in fear that the light would blind her. Its intensity began to build and it made a sound that whirled with building power, growing higher and higher in pitch until—

Until the sound and lights just stopped, and the whole meteorite crumbled into ash, just like the smaller one had nights prior. Foliga looked again. Small orbs were buried in the newly-produced ash, bigger than her jewel, but the same beautiful orange color.

She could now see, in the dusk, that these illuminated jewels also had faces, and then started to rise in the air, chittering to each other in a language she could not understand.

Her mouth hung open. "Come back! What kind of 'mon are you!?"

The floating glowing pokemon hung over her head, and gave her a light to see something else slide out of the ash pile. Something not like the glowing pokemon was covered entirely in black soot. It groaned in response, spitting more ash that was in its mouth. Then, It began to rise.

"AAAAHHH!"


	5. The Rowdy, Dirty, Human-Turned-Whatever

Captain Ty knew all his Mountaineers. It was a rule he forced himself to uphold that he would know a little bit about each of his recruits. He knew how most of the Larion joined when they learned something greater past their lonesome communities. Carbon the Carbink was considered the runt of his group, and joined the Mountaineers to prove them wrong. Ringer wanted a new start off the Sand Continent, and the Captain was more than happy to oblige.

Since he was young, he disdained the too aloof nature of those guild leaders that only bothered to act after their guild members were threatened… But as he grew, and eventually evolved, he learned there was a reason for it. That sometimes it was necessary to put on a smile for the sake for everyone else.

Now his guild members were being routed out by an unknown enemy. That was reason enough to fight back.

The Tyranitar understood how battles worked. He had been in his fair biggest one was that pokemon never fought in big teams back in his day would skirmish all the time over the rights to things like jobs and territory.

But what was happening tonight was madness.

Past the cliff and over the valley was another band of pokemon, their numbers rivaling his. They clumped together on the opposite cliff, and the distance obscured their figures from telling them apart. They were all shapes and colors, from different factions that surely would not combine forces for no small reason. And the Captain knew that it was not even all of them; more had splintered into the Copper Carvings, setting off the bombs that started the fighting. But now in a break between explosions, an eerie silence settled between the cliffs, a truce of sorts. The acoustics of the wide space carried his bellowing voice. "We are the Mountaineers! I speak for them as their Captain! I demand to know who has attacked us!"

Silence. Only a murmur arose from the crowd, as if they could not answer themselves. "Who amongst you will speak for everyone else!?" Ty called out again.

"...Ooh, that's me!" It was a tiny voice. The Tyranitar's heart sunk. Always a shame when a child ropes themselves in with the lawless. He could see how the crowd parted to make way for the speaker. Whomever it was, they were too small and still too far away to be able to identify from his perspective.

"Child, do you assume on behalf for this pack of bandits?"

"I was the one to gather these guys, so you watch what you say, waddya assume to that!?"

Ty was taken aback, but grimly accepted the claim. Looks could be deceiving, and not every leader was built like a Tyranitar. "Fine then! Who is it that I'm speaking to?"

"Hoopa! Just Hoopa."

 _That's no name or species I'm familiar with._ "Hoopa, what is the meaning of this unprompted attack? I assure you, there's nothing that isn't negotiable!"

"Quit being coy! Why else would anyone come to a place like this? The meteorite. And you have it. Hand it over!"

Even if Ringer would disagree, the contents of a single meteorite was not worth a fraction of his Mountaineers. "You're welcome to it! We have no interest in fighting over something so trivial!" He could already hear the griping from behind him. But his foot was down, and everyone else would just have to accept it.

"Trivial? Trivial!? What's so trivial about the future of our world? Why would you willingly let go of the next evolution for pokemon?"

 _Is he wondering out aloud?_ "You mean that you want me to fight you for it?" Ty joked. "The reason that drives you to the meteorite is your own. Our only stipulation is that our company is left alone—"

"Shut up, shut up, everyone SHUT UP!" Hoopa suddenly yelled. Both sides allowed uneasy murmurs to fall through their ranks, especially on the one that Hoopa stood on. "Uh-oh. Uuh-Oohh… I have terrible news for you Mountaineer Captain! Can't you feel it in the air? The meteorite's has finally opened!"

 _What? It's… opened?_

"Ha. Hahahaha! Such a shame for you! I was gonna let you go, even after our chit-chat. I even introduced myself! But now, things are bit more, well, complicated." The pokemon in Hoopa's company laughed with each other, finding the implication humorous. "I can't let you go finding out anything more…"

The Tyranitar felt a chill run up his body.

"Boys? You know what to do."

The bandits changed their formation. They opened their mouths to prepare elemental attacks, bared their claws and leveled their cannons right at the Mountaineers. His pokemon in turn retained their defensive line, anticipating the attack.

Oh, he tried. It was foolish for him to assume other pokemon wanted the same things as him. One last time, Captain Ty thought of Carbon and Ringer, two among the rest of the Mountaineers that did not need to suffer because of his mistake. And the Captain thought of the two innocent grass-types he thoughtlessly wrapped along, thinking they would be spared from his mess…

"Scorch 'em."

Explosions went off all around him, and the Copper Carvings plunged into battle.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5: The Rowdy, Dirty, Human-Turned-Whatever**_

* * *

 _Opening the eyes the first time was the hardest. Not used to the light, the smells, the feelings that encompass transformation. Then they deceived, cheated into the outcome they wanted, just too late when the truth was revealed. The innocence of slumber was violated. Chaos mixes into the laughter, not knowing which of the smiles were genuine…_

 _Destiny has already played its hand. But not like this. Heroes are only those who choose to be. And in that sense, volition has been violated also. Plunge headfirst into the unknown. If only the warmth and tears could reach…_

 _What lies in the heart takes form, scruples becoming flesh. It will be battered and torn before it gets sewn back together, then get trampled and forlorn all over again. Find trust, find truth, find a wayward sign, if it still stands…_

 _Wake up. It is time to get moving. Not safe here. Go…_

"AAAAHHHH!" someone screamed.

And _that_ had woken him up.

He was greeted to a faceful of soot that got into his eyes and ears and mouth. He stood up from where he lay, probably like a monster rising out of the ground. When he was back at his feet, he brushed the ash off his body, shook his head free of the stuff, and coughed the last of it out of his lungs. But most of it still stuck to his body. Nothing short of a proper bath would clean that up.

"HUUHH!?" the same someone cried again.

The lack of any water became second on his list of grievances; the screaming person was first. "If you don't mind, please don't yell at me?" He coughed some more to clear his voice, not liking the sound of it. "I'm still trying to wake up." He had woken up at an odd hour of the day, indeed. It was either the early morning, or early at night, in a place that he did not recognize, which happened to be the side of a canyon. He waded out of the pile of soot to peer over the edge of the path. He made a mental note to not fall off it. However, the person behind the earlier voice was nowhere in sight. Just off to the side was a Chikorita, wide-eyed and too timid to do anything else. "Uh, hey there… Would you happen to know if anyone's nearby? Someone to talk to?"

Then, the most ridiculous thing happened. Finding out that the Chikorita was being controlled by strings would have been more believable. It spoke back. "You were in the meteorite, the entire time?" the Chikorita said.

Lumbering behind him was the empty carcass-like rock that was apparently a meteorite. He examined himself once again, covered in ash. "Huh. Looks like it. Are you the only one here?"

"I— Oh! Um. It was just me. But I suppose it's now it's just _us_ , and whatever those things are…" The Chikorita sounded modulated enough. She was unmistakably the one who had cried out earlier. "Those things floating in the air, I have no idea what to call them, or you for that matter…"

 _Uh-huh. I might actually be going crazy._ But he quickly found himself going along anyway, smiling and bobbing his head sympathetically to her words. A talking pokemon was too good to pass by. So he looked to see where the talking Chikorita was pointing; above was indeed a group of colorfully bright pokemon, bathing the two and the path around them in an orange light. They all bounced around each other, swimming through the air like a school of Magikarp. "Oh, those? Those are just some Minior. They're harmless. What a cool coincidence that they're all orange."

The Chikorita laughed. Surely she knew too how awkward things were getting. "Thank you. Ah, sorry to be rude, but what species of pokemon are you called?"

Now it was his turn to laugh. "Me? My species is _homo-sapien_ , human for short—"

"You're a human?! Seriously?! Not like half-human, or one-quarter human?!"

 _That's oddly specific._ "Don't think so. And I sincerely hope that isn't even possible…"

The Chikorita circled around him doing her own examination, continuing to say whatever came to her mind first. "This is incredible! A real-life human! I gotta know if— ah, sorry, sorry. I've just never seen a human before, and one's standing right before my very eyes! Septime is gonna be so jealous! Do humans usually come out of meteorites?"

"What? Who?" He allowed the Chikorita to examine further, as long as she did not do anything too weird.

"Just a Servine I know. His family claims to be descendants of a human that saved the world on an adventure, and he'll do the same, and he'll say it powers him up when he's riled enough, and…" her voice trailed off, growing woeful.

"If that's true, I'd rather not think of the implications— Woah!" He jerked away, yelping when something grazed his backside, like it was stuck to him.

It was only then did he realize how _drafty_ he felt. He tried to pull the object off his back, but his stomach sunk deeper into his body when he discovered— _This isn't just stuck, it's attached to me!_ He now had a _tail,_ one fairly big in proportion to his size. And the rest of his body? Thankfully, he had a single pair of legs, but now crooked at weird angles with an odd set of digits. He had a pair of arms too, also with a few fingers less than he was accustomed to. His ears were long, and _floppy_ , that _flopped_ everywhere when he would shake his head. Two eyes, one nose. But his mouth extended forward, because he now had a _snout_. The world began to spin, and his knees faltered under him. "Ugh, I'm gonna—"

"I got you!" The Chikorita acted quickly, and moved under him to stop his fall. "Are you feeling alright?"

He slid off the Chikorita, burying his new snout into her hide. "W-What happened to me!? I-I'm… I'm a— I'm a pokemon!"

"I thought you were a human!"

"I am!"

"But you just said you were a 'mon!"

"I'm that now too, apparently!" He felt the hot tears of frustration building in his new eyes. He moved away to cover his appearance from the rest of the world. "I'm just some human-pokemon-freak!"

 _BOOM._

The ground under him shook. The orange glow from the Minior was momentarily engulfed by a fiery red far in the distance. Smoke followed afterwards. Then the sound of more voices yelling out into the dark. "Both of us aren't safe here. We need to leave." The grass-type's eyes glowed crimson with the faraway fire. "Are you well enough to stand?"

"I-I think." Since discovering his new body, standing onto his feet suddenly became hard. His legs moved and bent awkwardly, struggling to maintain balance.

She extended her leaf, and he grabbed on with both of his hands-paws- _whatever_. As a species, the leaves on a Chikorita's head looked easy to pull out like a weed, but the grass-type's was firm and strong enough to make it a misconception. "I'll help you walk. But we need to move fast. Like my friend Ringer would say, proper introductions can be done later!"

Abandoning the hollow meteorite, they held onto each other and ran along the winding trails, up and down the mountains, only as fast as his legs could go. The Chikorita seemed to know where she was going, and did not hesitate when they reached a fork in the road. So he trusted in her to navigate.

It helped that some of the Minior were following them. A handful bobbed behind them like balloons, providing their orange light in between red flashes of explosions. "Well, if they're not going to do anything else," the Chikorita said, looking up and back at the tentatively, "then they're welcome to follow along."

The long, narrow, wide, and twists in the road disoriented him anyways, and he could barely keep his head up to keep track of where they were going, where they were previously, the number of fires and explosions he heard... For all the things he wanted to know, he could remember nothing. _Why am I a pokemon? Why was I asleep for so long? Who are we running from?_ He wanted to form words to ask the Chikorita, but even that became hard. The mixture of soil and soot still dried his throat and fur that added greater insult to injury.

Suddenly, he was pulled to a stop. The Minior that followed them stopped jingling. "Who's there?" the Chikorita called out.

"Jeez, it's just me." Another voice said its owner, striding casually forward. It was a green and bipedal, about the same height of himself. His hopes were dashed quickly. _Another talking pokemon. Ugh. Are there any humans around here?_

"Septime?!" The new grass-type was taller than the Chikorita, but still was at eye-level of himself. "How'd you get here? What happened to Ringer?"

"Me and the Skarmory, we separated. The Mountaineers are still fighting the bandits, but we've cut out a small team to escape. I'll show you where they are."

She was taken back by the development. "Really? What about the meteorite?"

"Guess what? I was right all along!" The grass-type laughed bitterly at the smaller one. "That's forfeit now. The Mountaineers don't care anymore. Let's just go, alright?"

He hated the Servine. Maybe it was the way how the pokemon crossed his arms. Maybe it the way the Servine looked down on the Chikorita, the same one that stuck around to help him. Something was bothersome about how he addressed them. "Thanks, but we can get back on our own."

That made the Servine swivel to him, giving the same, sniveling nose-up look the Chikorita just got done receiving. "Who's the new 'mon supposed to be?"

So he made sure to meet the Servine's match, shifting his lips back into what he hoped to be a snarl. "Who're _you_ supposed to be?"

"Septime's our friend!" the Chikorita quickly said, "he came here to help me and Ringer, and we can help you too!"

He shook his head, and his ears annoyingly _flopped_ side-to-side. _This is becoming too much to handle…_ "You guys expect me to tag along just because you're some talking pokemon that tell me to? I don't even know your names!"

"That's— well, that's fair. What is your name?"

She said it so immediately he forgot his tangent. "I-I uh, hmm—"

"My name is Foliga," she said. "Foliga the Chikorita! And this is Septime. Septime the Servine! You have a name too, right?"

Good question. His head was empty enough to rattle and make an echo. Just another blank in his memory that he wanted to know. A name is something so raw, so instinctive. How could he possibly forget? It should just turn up in his head. If he needs a name to tell Foliga the Chikorita, and that jerk Septime the Servine, it would be… _Something the human. Someone the poke-mutant. My name is…_

"Adrian. That's my name. I remembered…" Adrian looked down at his hands. _What else do I know that I can't remember..?_

"How wonderful!" Foliga cheered.

Septime the Servine huffed opposingly. "Congratulations. You learned something even an infant responds to."

"Adrian." It took getting used to, but he was sure that was his name. "Adrian the… ugh." If Foliga did not know what pokemon he was, there was only one other person around to ask. Adrian turned hesitantly to Septime. "You wouldn't happen to know what pokemon I am, would you?"

Septime blinked at him. "Are you going crazy?"

"Of course you wouldn't." He sighed. "I just need a good look at myself. It can be with a mirror, or even a calm pool of water—"

 _BOOM._

"We can do all that when we're out of the Copper Carvings!" Foliga said. Another explosion went off, close enough to see it light up the mountains. To Adrian's delight, it scared Septime who jumped with a little _yelp!_ "We need to get out of here! Let's go find those Mountaineers, Septime!"

The three continued down the way that the Servine had come from. Adrian no longer needed help standing from Foliga, and could explore alongside her as the two followed behind Septime. "Where are we even heading?" Adrian tried asking.

"Home! Rather, _our_ home. We're heading to Paradise."

Adrian found it funny enough to chuckle. _Well, it can't be worse than this place. I'm getting sick of these mountains… Is this what being a pokemon means? Just a whole lot of walking? I hate being a pokemon._

The Copper Carvings started toying with them. On top of the trails that were to narrow or ready to collapse, some were simply impassable. Septime teetered dangerously over the edge of one that led off into a drop too dark to see the end of. Another was barricaded by boulders ten times their size. "This must be what those 'mon are blowing up!" Foliga exclaimed. "They're trying to trap us in."

Septime was already turning around. "Let's head back to the fork and try the other way."

Hearing the tone behind his voice irked Adrian to no end. And as they moved, the Servine would occasionally glance behind at them with his narrow, tired-like expression, making sure that he and Foliga were following. Adrian grew uncomfortable whenever he did. It gave him a convulsive twitch that crawled up his back to his head.

More explosions followed. Adrian, Foliga, and Septime were running at that point up and down the trails. Everyone held their breath as they headed down a new path. They groaned in despair together when they got stopped by another dead end. And the group cheered when they successfully reached another branching path. But the night was only growing, enveloping them. The Minior were finally showing their usefulness as their best source of light.

"We're almost there!" Septime announced. Ahead was a long natural bridge that stood high above a river. It sloped to the side, and with nothing to keep someone from accidentally falling over the edge, nothing to keep a big gust of wind plummeting into the water below. The bridge was what divided the two different environments; behind him was the uneven and rocky terrain of the canyon, and in front of him was the leveled and very lush vegetation of a forest.

"There's some 'mon I'm dying for you guys to meet."

Another chill ran up Adrian. The Servine would not stop staring at him, and he stared right back. The cold and brittle feeling he had before was strengthened more at their locked gazes. His eyes tried to shift away, but the rest of his senses forced him to keep looking, and maybe hope that Foliga would realize it too. His ears and tail perked like they tried to help him look past Septime's facade—

 _It's face. Not facade… or is it?_ "Foliga, keep away from Septime!" Adrian backed up instinctively and took the Chikorita with him. "He's hiding something!"

She pulled away. "What do you mean?! Septime's our friend!"

"He's planning something! I don't know what or why, but he didn't come to help us! Just look at him." Septime did not say anything in his defense, he did not even bother to move. His eyes gleamed unnaturally in the dark. How could Foliga not see it like Adrian could?

"That can't be true! How would you even know, you just met him today!" Foliga was disturbed by the notion, and looked between the two rapidly. "He wouldn't! Septime would do a lot of things, but he wouldn't just…"

"Tee-hee-hee-hee!" The laugh that escaped Septime was not the one Adrian had been hearing until now. It became a tiny, light voice that belonged to someone caught in a white lie. "Oh, I can't believe I lasted this long! It's getting too good to keep up!"

Wind began to howl around them. Sand and rocks were picked up that threatened his eyes, and the two were forced to look away from the sudden sandstorm that suddenly appeared… When the dust settled. Septime was gone, and where he stood was an entirely new pokemon.

A Zorua. She rolled back and forth on the ground. "Hahahahahaha! Oh man, I've been holding that one in for so long! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just that look on your faces—"

Foliga gasped. "He was right… But you were never even Septime begin with!"

"Nope. But I gotta admit, I'm pretty impressed, Adrian. No one's ever caught me in a disguise before. And I mean no one. Nada. What gave me away?"

"Morgana, you fool! You've ruined everything!" Another pokemon rushed from the opposite side of the bridge. A Bouffalant. When he reached the others, the normal-type breathed air hot into the Zorua's face. "Why are there so many Minior gathered here— you broke the rouse at the most crucial moment possible! Why did you do that!?"

"What's wrong with _you_ , Bo?" she fired back, coughing grandiosely at the Bouffalant in return.

"You just said my name!"

"Well, you already shouted at them mine, 'ya idiot!"

Without hesitation, Adrian ran up to the Bouffalant, who backed up from the approach. "Listen, I'm just happy to see anyone else at this point. Please, all I ask is— tell me what pokemon I am!"

 _Pow!_ Adrian's head swung up and he flipped onto his jaw. Pain coursed his jaw from where he was hit, and he groveled on the ground trying to soothe it. The conversation continued without him. "Control your rabid Riolu, girl. Or we'll do it for you."

 _Riolu..?_

"Have you ever heard of a Riolu that totally forgot what he was? He couldn't even remember his name! Can't believe an amnesiac caught me. Adrian, you cheat! I spent way more time than I should studying the ins-and-outs of that Servine. His mannerisms, the superiority complex… and you just used your aura to render it all useless!"

 _I'm a Riolu..?_

"There were no Bouffalant or Zorua in the Mountaineers, not that I remember seeing. Where's Septime. Where's my friend!?"

 _I'm a human, but now I'm a—_

"If you come with us, we'll be happy to show you."

Adrian the Riolu made it back to his feet, staring defiantly at the opposing pokemon. He was a fighting-type. They were dark and normal-type. "Forget the questions, Foliga. We'll beat the answers out of them!"

"What?!" Foliga looked sharply to him. "W-we can't!"

"Listen to your friend, kid." Bo the Bouffalant said. "You can't fight the two of us."

Adrian toned everyone out. He stepped forward, stretching the soreness out of his limbs. All pokemon were able to fight, and we could not help but admit to the desire. "Oh, I'm serious. Payback to you for threatening us. And payback to her for intentionally not telling me I was a Riolu earlier." He raised his fists. "I'm ready to take you both on!"

"I'm not!" Foliga said.

"What— Hey wait!" The Chikorita hooked her leaf around the Riolu's arm and sprinted for the opposite direction, back into the Copper Carvings. He had no choice or risk falling again on his face. Foliga ran surprisingly spry even when he had the longer legs. Bo and Morgana did not bother running after them.

"Cocina! Get them!"

 _Shnk! Shnk!_ In two fluent moves, a Kabutops propelled itself back onto the bridge. arching through the air in an impressive acrobatic maneuver _. It was hanging off the ledge the entire time?!_ Adrian thought incredulously. The Kabutops then kept one bladed appendage to its side, denying them access back into the Carvings. It leveled the second one straight at Adrian and Foliga. "You're not going anywhere," Cocina the Kabutops hissed, flourishing his blades. "But if you're still itching for a fight, Riolu, I will put you in your place."

It gave enough time for Bo and Morgana to cover their side of the bridge. "It's about time your kids realize that you don't have a choice in the matter. You'll be coming with us."

Foliga stared dumbfounded at the Kabutops. Adrian growled back at the other two. The Minior were neutrally aligned, sharing the empty sky above their heads. They were slowly being pushed together until they were back-to-back, and the ice-cold needles of anxiety pricked his skin, unnerving him. "I'll be honest," he whispered to Foliga. "I don't feel like fighting anymore."

"There's nowhere to go… This isn't how it was supposed to happen…" Foliga babbled incoherently, her voice breaking. "I-I just wanted to… Not like this. I-I'm sorry, Adrian. I thought I knew what I was doing, and you got tangled up in this. It's okay. Let's surrender."

Adrian looked one more time at her. Suddenly being a Riolu had carried too many mysteries, and he was not ready to go down. Not without a fight, at least. He grimly accepted a new truth. That there was another way off the bridge.

 _Plunge headfirst into the unknown…_

"So I know we just met," Adrian said as evenly as possible, "But can you trust me on something?"

Foliga nodded. It was now his turn to reach for her. And she accepted the offer, his hand grasped firmly around her leaf. The three pokemon around them tensed, probably believing they would try to run again. "Sorry to disappoint you," Adrian taunted, "but we're not gonna be your prisoners!" Before they could realize his intentions, he made a run for the side.

"Are you crazy!?"

"Jump!"

The Riolu could no longer feel the ground under him. He twisted in the air. They disappeared from the light of the Minior, before falling through the emptiness of night. Somewhere along the way his grip on the Chikorita's leaf was broken. The rush of wind and river under him grew closer, wider, until he could hear the running water. _Maybe I shouldn't have went in head-first. I should've led with my stupid tail—_

Adrian's senses left.

* * *

 **Paradise Village**

 **1F**

* * *

He feebly crawled to exit the water, groaning in humiliation. Drops of water ran down his head. He first felt the surge within him, then began violently coughing up all from the river that he accidentally swallowed. When that was done, he collapsed onto his back, panting heavily. How long did the river carry him downstream? The landscape still meant nothing to him, that it did not uncover any new memories. It looked nothing like the mountains that he awakened in. Now he was surrounded in luscious grass, a river that provided life to the vegetation, a stony riverbank with pebbles that conformed to his shape, and a sky caught in a perpetual midday. It was twilight when they left the Copper Carvings, the river ferried them throughout the whole night.

 _Well, at least I got washed clean, the Chikorita will be happy for that. Wait, where is she?_

Adrian picked his head up, scanning along the bank. Sure enough. Foliga had washed out of the river not too far away from where he himself had. So he scrambled over to where she curled into a ball. "Hey, are you okay? It's morning. We should get up." Foliga did not answer. He tried shaking her, to no avail. "It's not good to sleep in. Wakey-wakey!". If the Chikorita had accidentally swallowed too much river water, the human-turned-Riolu had absolutely no clue how to help dispel it from her system. "Please get up, I have no idea I'm doing—"

Grass rustled behind him. Adrian stood up to face the noise, putting himself in front of his fallen ally. The group who cornered him on the bridge could have pursued all the way down. "You better come out right now! I'm not in the mood for games!"

He took a sigh of relief when it was actually a trio of Pawniard. "Oh more pokemon, Listen, I can't get my friend to wake up!"

No reply. The Riolu knew right away something was wrong. Each of the Pawniard stared Adrian down, their pupils slanted to focus solely on him. They gave no regard for Foliga and circled around like she did not exist. Adrian chuckled as the dark-steel-types fanned around him. "What's your guy's deal? I need help— Woah!"

The one on his left rushed him, its blade-hand looking to skewer his center of mass. He was able to graze by the attack and step away in time to miss the second Pawniard that made an attempt for him.

"What're you guys doing?!" he called out. "Are you deaf? Knock it off!" They remained silent, and they fanned out once again for him, turning their backs on Foliga. But if they were looking for a fight, then it left Adrian no choice. He spread out into what he thought was a battle stance, raising his fists.

"You made me to this! KYYAAA!" It was his turn to rush forward with a burst of speed and mobility, leaving even the Pawniard off-guard. He punched for the first one's center, right in the gap between its chest-blades. He quickly followed up with a second one from the other fist, bringing the Pawniard to the ground.

 _Schhck!_ A grating sound carved into the Riolu's ears. He fell to a knee, holding his ears together to mitigate the damage that threatened his eardrums. One of the Pawniard had stepped away and drew its arm against its head, playing it like an instrument. The third Pawniard took advantage of this. Its arm glowed a silver light, and it rushed him and cleanly dashed past Adrian, drawing the weapon into his body. Pain erupted from Adrian's chest. He gritted his teeth together, bearing the pain. when the Pawniard went for a second attack, he caught the arm, and threw him at the third one. The metallic sound stopped soon as the dark-steel-type broke concentration.

The third and final Pawniard made it back to its feet and made a last-ditch run at Adrian. He roared and challenged the approach head-on, reeling back his fist to strike. Their attacks were hairs away from connecting, but Adrian was faster; with a decisive uppercut, the Riolu hit the rabid pokemon square in the chin and with enough force to send it up into the air .

"I'm not through with you yet!" Then he jumped after the Pawniard, meeting him mid-air. Rotating his hips to generate momentum, he delivered a powerful kick that pelted the pokemon back to the ground. Adrian landed perfectly on his feet.

Now there were three Pawniard scattered around him in varying degrees of hurt. And the biggest injury he sported was comparable to a scrape. _Actually, I take some of it back. Being a pokemon isn't that bad._

"Ack! A-choo! Ugh…"

"You're awake!" Adrian rushed to Foliga's side who began convulsing and emptying her lungs of the water. Her eyes drooped tiredly, taking in the surroundings. The Chikorita shivered and battled to keep her mouth from moving. Adrian was not sure what else to do than hover over her and make sure she was okay.

"The bag…"

Adrian remembered. The Chikorita's single-strap bag was missing. He quickly scanned for it alongside the riverbank, and waded into the water to recover the bag from the rock that caught it. "It's right here!" he shouted back.

"Hand me an oran berry…"

Adrian opened the bag, and was confronted with a _lot_ of stuff. The bag was packed to the point he needed to put some items out to properly sort through it all. Along with the edible items were a collection of blue orbs, some fabrics, wet papers that had ink running everywhere thanks to the river. "I've encountered a problem. I have no idea what an oran berry is."

"The blue ones…" He handed to Folgia one of the berries which she gratefully accepted. It only took her a matter of moments to ingest the whole thing, even the core.. She soon sighed and made it back to her feet, stretching and groaning softly in a sudden surge of stamina and health.

"You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?" he asked.

"Very far away from the Carvings, and whoever those pokemon were." The Chikorita jabbed her leaf into Adrian's chest. "Why didn't you tell me about jumping off the bridge? We could've been separated! Or worse."

The Riolu raised his hands to his defense. "I'm sorry! There wasn't much time to go over a plan, if you remember. We got out of there, didn't we?"

She sighed in resignation. "I suppose. Whatever the case, there's no telling if the Zorua and the Bouffalant and the other one—"

"The Kabutops," Adrian corrected.

"If they wanted us, they would've followed the river down after us. We should get moving." Foliga tossed her bag over herself to carry, and marched forward. Then she noticed the three unconscious Pawniard. "What happened here?"

"I donno! They attacked me for no reason."

She looked over to him, dumbfounded. "And took them out, all by yourself?"

"I wish you were awake to see it. I was awesome. It was a first for me, you know— seeing pokemon that weren't interested in talking whatsoever."

"They didn't say anything to you? That's… we should return to the village."

* * *

 **Paradise Village**

 **2F**

* * *

They followed the waterfront, passing by many interesting sights. First off, they never encountered other pokemon. Houses and cottages were lined by pasture hills that lacked any activity inside or outside. Excluding their own movements and the running water, everything was eerily still. "Maybe your village got evacuated?" Adrian offered absentmindedly.

"That shouldn't be true. No one would have a reason to leave." Foliga's explanation was unwavering. "The Copper Carvings is far enough from Paradise so they wouldn't hear the explosions. Unless someone came to tell them, no 'mon here would have a clue."

He sighed. "Whatever works for you, I guess."

"Nothing to worry about, I'm sure! We just need to ask someone for directions, then we'll find the Superior, and he'll be sure to know what to do."

The Riolu pointed out ahead of them. "How about that pokemon?"

Taking a drink at the river was a Sawsbuck. It bowed its head delicately over the water, fixated on it and had not noticed the two approaching its side. As the only other pokemon besides them, its stature was easy to mark out.. Foliga immediately bounded over, towing Adrian reluctantly along. Just like the Pawniard before, there was something just off about the Sawsbuck. And he was not about to make the same mistake twice, or get Foliga to do fall for it. "I'd be—"

"Morning, sir!" Foliga called out. The Sawsbuck raised its head at her. "You wouldn't mind pointing us in the right direction to Paradise? We're a bit lost, and we need to find the Superior…" Foliga's face slowly shifted, and she must have realized something was wrong too. The Sawsbuck shifted its stance to threaten her with its antlers. Then it charged her, making great work at trapping the Chikorita with its antlers and throwing it to the side. The Sawsbuck spotted Adrian next, and it lowered its head, marking him his next target. He was able to dive away in time as it rushed past him, and rounded to attack again.

Adrian quickly returned to Foliga's side. "Why is everyone in your village crazy?"

"It's coming again!"

The two dove in opposite directions to avoid the Sawsbuck's third attempt to run them down. Quickly puzzling out something to do, they regrouped as the wild grass-type turned around to inevitably try a fourth time. Sure, they could try to attack it, but it was too fast to hit Riolu braced his shoulders, spreading his feet far apart for more stability. "Could you attack if I get it to stop?

"You can't possibly mean to—"

"Too late for that!" The Sawsbuck was upon him, and he held out his hands to grapple onto its antlers. They connected, and Adrian anchored his feet into the dirt. He had successfully locked them into place! Adrian snickered at the Sawsbuck, finding in the other pokemon's growls and effort his victory. The ground shifted under him which he had to re-adjust to keep his captive from slipping away. Foliga had manifested leaves, the size of her own, to strike the side of the other grass-type. Each cut into its hide, which bellowed out in pain. And at the lost of its resistance, Adrian threw it to the side, into the river with a loud splash! As rain fell, the two remaining pokemon took a sigh of relief when the Sawsbuck fled from the opposite bank.

"We haven't accidentally done anything to deserve this, have we?" Adrian said, exasperated. "I hope you didn't do something to make you unwelcome back."

"That wasn't a pokemon from the village. That pokemon was from a mystery dungeon."

 _A what?_

Foliga continued, urged by Adrian's lost look. "The thing is, 'mon in mystery dungeons can't be reasoned with! They'll attack any one of us on sight. But there sure weren't any dungeons nearby the river to wander out of, I know that for sure." Adrian knew it must have carried a dangerous implication. Foliga quit speaking outright, looking all around them and at him, looking which way to travel next. She was still set on returning Paradise Village. And he followed closely behind, much more weary about the stillness in the air.

* * *

 **Paradise Village**

 **3F**

* * *

With all the structures they had passed, Adrian was sure they progressed to the outskirts of the village. Moving away from the river, following the roads that snaked through tilled fields. He would have been thrilled at the change in scenery, but a chilling observation nagged him since they arrived there. "Are all of these buildings supposed to look alike? I swear we've passed by the same house at least three times. Or maybe we're just going around in circles?"

At that point, he was talking on deaf ears. Maybe the Chikorita was just no good at conversation, because she spent an awful lot of time talking to herself. "Paradise is supposed to be safe… Ringer said it was… but, those 'mon at the Carvings, they must've known what they were looking for…"

Looking ahead, Adrian noticed another two pokemon standing in the middle of the road. Since Foliga was still distracted he had to push her off the road and ducked behind one of the wells by the field. "Get it together, there are more pokemon right in front of us!" he whispered.

"What? Who are they?" Shaken back to present time, she looked carefully over from their hiding place. "That looks like Bulk and Gina!"

He blinked at her. "Who?"

"They're okay, I know them! Maybe they know where..!" Without a second thought, she bounded out and rushed toward the two pokemon, which were actually a Throh and Gothorita.

Adrian followed in a desperate attempt to stop her. "Hey, our luck hasn't been the best with—"

"Bulk! Gina! It's me, Foliga! I'm so glad you're okay!" She stopped short of them, the rest of her speech fell away when looking upon her friends. The Throh stared down at her, its eyes unblinking, and she was caught in a grim realization. The Gotitoria glanced at Foliga with no sign to its intentions. "Y-You… but this—!"

"Get away from them!" Adrian could feel it, the same kind of blank and instinctive animosity that reeked also from the Pawniard. He caught up to the rest and grabbed the Chikorita by the leaf to drag her away.

Suddenly, he was picked up off the ground and flew into Foliga's side, both blown off the road and destroying the fence for good measure. They landed in the field's soft dirt, surrounded by pieces of the picket fence and groveling from the sudden attack. When he looked back up, he gasped to see the wooden boards floating mid-air and pointed at them. He rolled to narrowly avoid being skewered by the pieces reassembling itself.

Adrian saw the Gotitoria's glowing eyes and raised hands. "These 'friends' of yours are trying to hurt us too!"

"I-I don't—" Foliga began to say, but was cut off and screamed when the Gotitoria aimed for her.

The Riolu gasped under the shadow of the Throh standing before him, whose width was enough to blot out the sun. He jumped and reeled his arm right for a punch to the face. And the other fighting-type effortlessly caught his hand with its own, then used its other free one to grab Adrian's foot.

It was humiliating. Adrian could do little more than yell in terror as the bigger pokemon swung him around and around. When it built enough momentum, the Throh let go, and the Riolu was launched into the air for a second time. The ground spun during his descent, and he landed in a space where drinking water mixed with the earth.

He choked on a mouthful of mud. That was _more_ humiliating. And he was all dirtied all over again.

After wading out of the mud, Adrian fell to his knees to allow the ground to orient itself again. Another shadow enveloped him, and he did not need or had the pride to look up as the other pokemon wanted to do the process over again. The Riolu's body went limp as the Throh picked him up by the neck.

 _Crack!_ At the sound of shattering glass Adrian was let go and he fell to the ground. He coughed as air returned to his throat. The Throh's face twisted into discomfort, but otherwise did not make any move to attack or toss him again. Now on his feet, Adrian looked around. "Why—"

"Don't touch them!" Foliga shouted. She was caught against the Gotitoria, which also happened to be caught in the same state as the Throh. "They won't come after us as long as we don't hurt them."

Adrian met Foliga back on the road. There were blue glass shards sprinkled along the ground no bigger than blades of grass. "What was this supposed to be?" he asked.

She pulled out an intact blue orb from her bag, with a peculiar hazy core like mist was trapped inside. "I used a wonder orb. They're paralyzed in place for the time being…"

"Nice. Let's give them a taste of their own medicine, before it wears off!"

"What?!" Foliga gasped. "No! We can't!"

Adrian gave her a look. "Why not? If we don't, they'll just follow and attack us again."

"Not if we make it far enough." She gazed woefully at the two pokemon. "My friends… maybe Bulk and Gina will…" She started down the road, and Adrian huffed to keep close behind.

"No offence, but they were anything but 'friendly,' so I wouldn't go around calling them 'friends.'"

She laughed it away. "Meh, they've attacked me before for less reason."

"They're just unthinking pokemon caught in a, uh, mystery dungeon, right?"

"Pokemon that just happen to resemble Bulk and Gina? Please, Adrian. I need to make sure that the real Bulk and Gina are safe!"

The Riolu rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. _As long as there's a place up ahead to wash this mud off me._

* * *

 **Paradise Village**

 **4F**

* * *

Going further down the rural plantations, the crops or whatever plants the villagers had planted were growing taller and taller that hindered their sight. At first it only reached the height of the Riolu's waist and the natural fear arose that more pokemon would be smart enough to hide in the stalks and ambush them. But as they continued down…

"I feel like I'm in a maze," Adrian commented.

"That's what a mystery dungeon is supposed to feel like." She sounded fearful of her own answer, like she did not want to believe it. "There were never crops this tall in Paradise, not during the spring, at least. It must've made them very specifically for us."

He looked between the nearly identical stalks getting confused by the paths that were offered. "We're gonna get lost at this rate. We could leave a trail behind us, to remember where we've already been."

"Doesn't work," Foliga said, shaking her head. "Mystery dungeons don't stay the same way for very long. It's different every time you enter one."

"Hmm." Adrian did not like being trapped. He was quickly getting sick of the long maze and random clearings every other turn. But he was in a field, after all. _That's right! What if I just ignore the paths and just move in a single direction? By that logic, I ought to end up somewhere outside of the mystery dungon._ The next time they had to make a turn, Adrian ignored Foliga's lead and just kept walking forward. The sun went away, blotted by the canopy of crops, and he closed his eyes to avoid getting hit there by and leaves. "Foliga, I have an idea—"

"No!" He was yanked out by the Chikorita's leaf wrapped around his waist, and he fell on top of her with an embarrassing Oof! But she did not seem to mind. "Whew! That was a close one."

"I thought of a way to get out of here! What's the big idea?"

"Adrian, that's not how mystery dungeons work. You have to stay on the path."

"Why?"

"Because! That's just how it works. Bad stuff happen off the path."

"What kind of 'bad stuff?'"

Suddenly, something snapped around the Riolu's ankle, and began to drag him back into the stalks. "H-help!"

Foliga still had a hold on his waist, and pulled in the opposite direction. "Quit trying to go back in!"

"That's not me!"

Realizing the situation, she pulled harder than before. Adrian strained from being in the middle of the tug-of-war, like he was going to get ripped into pieces. He held onto Foliga as his last anchor, kicking at his kidnapper, but grimly accepted that the unknown pokemon was winning. His grip was loosening, and so was Foliga's on him.

They had no choice but to release each other. Adrian cried out as the thing on his ankle snake up and around him. Then he was suspended in the air with that unrelenting grip that immobilized his body. A Serperior parted out of the stalks, clutching Adrian with the end of its tail and still enough body left to stand taller than the crops.

Adrian struggled under the Serperior's grasp, fighting to keep it from depriving him of oxygen. Foliga was his only hope of escaping. "D-Do something!" he choked out.

But she was as still as a statue, caught in the glare of the Serperior, and could not form the words or as much as stutter under the larger grass-type's influence. Foliga's bag dropped from her side, tears welling in her eyes and her breathing went erratic and clearly ready to collapse. Then the Serperior attacked her with its head, chomping down on the dirt of where she stood. Foliga barely moved away in time, and she screamed as she was swatted away by the force of the attack. The motion of the pokemon had taken pressure away from Adrian and he was able to fall to the ground free, albeit gasping for air. The serpentine grass-type adamant to sink its fangs into the Chikorita, hitting her with its tail to move her into place and then striking again with its head.

It's just toying with her! Adrian tried twice to jump onto it, but was merely swatted away by the flat end of the Serperior's tail. Then he noticed Foliga's bag discarded in a corner, and he dived for it. "I'll find something to help in here!"

Foliga screamed. The Serperior had nipped a bit of her side, and she was tossed to the other end of the field. "Please, stop!"

"Just hang in there!" His hands fidgeted through the bag, feeling around for one of those blue orbs that Foliga had shown him earlier. The first one he came to, he pulled it out and chucked it automatically at the two pokemon. "Eat this!"

 _Crash!_ Its effects were not discernible. The glass orb had shattered on the Serperior's spine, and it just turned its attention to him. _Uh-oh._ The wild pokemon used its full body to sweep him off his feet. But a barrier instantly formed between him and the Serperior that blocked the attack. Even when it dissipated, or switched back to target Foliga, the barrier formed again to shield them.

"You used our last wonder orb," Foliga said weakly, "if we move, the effect won't follow. Adrian, we're stuck here!"

So, they waited. Foliga bowed her head to recuperate her strength. Even though the Chikorita had attacks that would work through the protective field, Adrian knew she would not use them. The Serperior just bided its time and moved in between them to attack both simultaneously as soon as the barrier disappeared. "We need to run out of here, We can't fight this one—"

Adrian looked down the path. "Wait. What is that?"

The shapes were unidentifiable at first, It was a shifting mob that tore through the field and down to where the two of them were stuck. Adrian gasped when it got close; It's a whole horde of pokemon! They were almost a silent mob, alerting their presence only by the rustling of the crops they stomped over. Among the crowd he could see dozens of Pawniard, Throh, Gotitoria, Sawsbuck, with a whole variety of other pokemon that they had not seen yet. There were also Pansear, Panpour, Cubchoo, Lillipup…

He tried laughing, but it came off as too sour. _It's like they really were following us, all long. And they brought some more "friends" to help finish the job._

There were enough to surround both of Adrian and Foliga's protective domes, muffling their voices, trying to claw their way in. But he could hear Foliga, how she began to sob and shake. "Please… I-I'm sorry… I j-just wanted to— I'm so, so sorry… You were all supposed to be safe. I sh-should have never done this..!"

The barrier began to crack and shatter, like the orb that summoned it did. Then all the pokemon enveloped him, cutting off his senses, until he could no longer sustain their battering on his new Riolu body, and his world went dark.


	6. The Past is Prologue

Adrian suddenly awoke with half of his head and face buried in the dirt. All of him ached. Simply standing was a struggle how sore he felt. Now, Adrian was in a new place entirely that was not the canyon, nor the edge of the river, nor even the village that the Chikorita spoke of. It was an unidentifiable highway with a dense line of trees on either side meant to keep travelers from straying off the wide road. He lacked the sense of direction to know where he currently was. North? South? South of _what,_ exactly?

He finally remembered why his body hurt so much, what he was doing before he fainted. Then his memory flashed before him to remember his _situation_ , how they escaped into the river that rushed them somewhere dangerous. That he and the Chikorita were essentially pummeled into submission…

 _Oh, where is she?_ He looked around and found Foliga the Chikorita, unconscious just as he once was and tossed to the other side of the road. She suffered from ragged breaths, and caught in a deeper dream than he was. Adrian did end up finding Foliga's exploring bag which was more _empty_ than he remembered it being. _Did someone seriously drop us here and steal all our stuff?! Unbelievable! Didn't have the decency to take the bag with them!_ Not sure what else to do, he started to shake Foliga. "Wake up! We have a problem!"

"H-Huh? What happened..?" She groggily looked around, same as he first did.

"Someone made off with our stuff!"

The Chikorita's face turned pale at the dawning horror of the situation. She tried to find the right tone to mask her dread. "Where's my bag?"

"Empty," he said, opening it to show her. She was silent for a long time after that. Adrian had no idea what to do except stand there clutching her bag dumbfoundedly. The morning air should have been peaceful, but did nothing more than to unease them in eerie quietness. Bruises that showed through his short-cropped Riolu fur began to sting, itching him to get moving. "I don't think we should head back to Paradise Village."

"We _can't_ head back to Paradise Village," she repeated solemnly.

As the only one of them with a sense of direction, he needed to get her back on track."Where should we go now?"

"…I know this road, it leads to the Copper Carvings. I need to see who's still there."

So they left traveling down the highway in their tattered state, unfamiliar to himself but familiar to Foliga. She mentioned how she had traveled the very same road the day before, and it showed; numerous footprints like a stampede were still visible. The paranoia of the morning slowly grew on him, and he remembered the ambush just outside the Copper Carvings. _If they're adamant, those pokemon from yesterday could still be searching for us, or setting up another trap…_

But when the Copper Carvings drew near, when the trees and green were replaced with sand and rock, they were shocked to find they could go no further. The natural bridge that suspended over the river was _destroyed._ The rubble of it were in giant fragments at the bottom of the valley it once crossed, where it collected water like a dam, and would slowly dry out the current that led to Paradise Village.

"Those 'mon that were chasing us did this," Foliga said, peering over the ledge to see the damage. "They don't want anyone entering. Or leaving." The wind was strong and Foliga swayed, and she staggered back before an accident could happen. "I… What they did to Paradise… and now they have Septime…"

Adrian could understand. Now, In their own humorous, individual way, they were both lost. "So. What happens now?"

"The Mountaineers said that they were going to bring the meteorite somewhere. That they had someone interested in it…" She turned to him. "I don't want to force you to go anywhere, but it's important that I protect you."

 _You're supposed to be the one protecting me?_ "That doesn't sound like a lot to go on. Where are you talking about exactly?"

"There's this place they mentioned. Bargain Town. There might be someone there that can help us! Maybe… maybe some of the Mountaineers escaped, and we'll find them." She looked down the road, trying to find an unseeable destination. "Will you go with me?"

He shrugged. "Not like I have anywhere better to be."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6: The Past is Prologue**_

* * *

There was no one else on the roads. It was just each other, and their footsteps as they crunched through the dirt and leaves, because neither of them were in the mood for conversation. On any other occasion Adrian would have been more than happy to pester the Chikorita for details, but he knew better than that right now. _She probably has as many questions and answers as I do,_ he thought grimly. _Which is to say, none at all._

But most of the routes that Foliga and Adrian took were the backroads. The ones covered in overgrowth and were untrimmed, sometimes narrow enough for only the one of them at a time. Sometimes it dove into the forest, where the sun was filtered by the canopy. Sometimes they cut corners by trampling through the pastures to where the road started again. They abandoned the highway in favor for these alternates were because, in the Chikorita's own words, "This way's gonna take us directly to another town. We'd be just wasting our time by staying on the highway."

It clicked in his head then, and he gave her a dubious look. "What? You don't even know where we're going?"

"I have an idea of where to go," she elaborated. "I haven't been west, and there isn't another town nearby that I know of, so it stands to reason that a town lays west!"

"I guess." He gave up trying to press the logic. To him right now, there were lots of other things to worry about.

First and foremost, Adrian hated all the _walking_ he had to do. It was not because it tired him. Just the opposite, it was strangely enthralling to do an all-day marathon and not feel exhausted. But there was just so much scenery he could bear! First the drab canyon, then the village, now the forest trails. Just what was a proper pokemon village that was not out to attack him supposed to be like? He was itching to know.

Foliga was fortunately able to elaborate on one thing, and she assured Adrian that the _mystery dungeon itself_ was the one that took her belongings, not a random burglar. "That's just what a mystery dungeon does," Foliga explained softly. "It takes what it wants because we escaped the wrong way. We were overwhelmed…"

He nodded along. After all, it was not the craziest thing he had to believe recently. _So essentially, I'm stuck following its rules. But next time, if there is a next time, I'll win._

In the end, they just had to keep going. Eventually, the trail did open up to a peaceful clearing that ran alongside a pond, complete with the morning mist that still rolled over it. It looked cold, refreshing, and very tempting to Adrian. "Can't we take a break here?" he called out to Foliga. "We're not in any rush, right?"

She hummed tiredly, before making her sigh of resignation. "Oh. Alright. I suppose a little rest here won't hurt. I'll just, um," she settled away from the water, "wait right here until you're ready to go."

Adrian knelt by the water to study the reflection that it showed him. This was another big dilemma that troubled him. He was truly not in a dream, because Adrian was still a pokemon _._ A Riolu at that, with crimson eyes, metal plates embedded in the flesh of each forearm, a pair of ears that rendered the floppy things on each side of his head irrelevant, the whole deal. His reflection tilted its head when he did, and there was something so unsettling about it, because he knew that it was supposed to be _wrong_.

Albeit the calm body of water did do an excellent job reflecting the still atmosphere… so Adrian decided to jump into it with a mighty _ker-plash!_ Doing so muted his voice, and he emptied his lungs to sink to the bottom. Seconds ticked away in his head as he just sat there at the murky bottom, arms and legs crossed. He counted well over a minute before he felt the need to return to the surface. _Why couldn't I at least become a water-type? Bet I could breathe underwater, and that'd be useful! What is a Riolu able to do?_

Foliga stayed away from the water, sunbathing. The Chikorita's mind was entirely somewhere else, and even though she looked comfortable lounging on the road, Foliga stared unfocused back the way they came. But when he was ready to continue, she looked ready too, and they left in their merry way.

Then the walking continued. The morning and afternoon rolled right past him with _absolutely_ nothing happening. Perhaps it was common for pokemon towns to be so far apart from each other. Maybe that was why they never saw anyone else traveling. Adrian could practically feel his enthusiasm draining from him with every step.

 _Grrrooowwwlll._

 _Oh wait. I think that's just my stomach._ He called out to Foliga and said, "What are we going to do for food?"

She tossed her leaf out of her eyes. "Sorry. Not many options right now. If we keep going, I'm sure we'll find something."

"Okay." _I'm a pokemon now. A fighting-type! I should have more stamina than this._ But despite of what he tried to tell himself, Adrian did not bode well missing out on breakfast. Or lunch. And as the sky turned shades of orange, and the trees' long shadows dipped over them, it was beginning to look like he would go without dinner too. "It's also going to get dark soon," he pointed out.

"It is. Maybe we can make it to Bargain Town by the morning…"

He stepped up to huff at her. "You seriously think we're going to be okay traveling through the night?"

"Why not?" Foliga looked at him like _he_ was somehow being the unreasonable one. "Look at it this way. The faster we can get there, the better it'll for both of us. It'll certainly be easier to find food in a town than out here!"

"But what about rest? Proper sleep? What if there's bandits stalking the highway?"

"Just how many stops do you need, Adrian?"

"How about shelter from the weather? Arriving in an unfamiliar town in the middle of the night isn't good either. Or getting lost in the darkness—"

"Okay, enough!" Foliga said, relenting. "Over there, the break in the trees. That's a good enough ditch as any to stay in."

They hopped off the road and settled into where she had pointed out. It was incredibly unremarkable, just hard dirt with patches of grass. Both of them went to work individually scraping beds out of the fallen leaves, in lieu of no proper beds. _What are pokemon usually sleeping on?_ the human-turned-pokemon thought. Adrian immediately fell onto his when he was done. It was scratchy on the Riolu's back and he rolled around to find a comfortable position that accommodated his tail. The first and worst bed he was going to sleep in, but it would simply have to do.

The stars and moon were completely blotted out by the clouds, and so before the true dark and cold of night settled, Foliga decided to build a campfire. _That_ had him burst out laughing. "What? A grass-type starting a fire? Don't tell me that's not at least ironic!"

"It's useful to know," the Chikorita replied dryly. "I'll teach you to make the second one, so next time you don't just stand around and watch."

Adrian held his hand in front of him. "I just meant it as a joke, okay? I wasn't trying to make fun of you or anything."

She sighed. "I know…" She stared longingly into the fire, reflecting on that moment in its flames. It made their bivouacs more comfortable, but separated the two from each other, as they sat on opposite sides of it that let the light illuminate and warm their faces. "I'm the one that should be apologizing to you. I wasn't the most helpful today, was I?"

"I wouldn't put you down so quick," he offered.

"I'm sorry. I've been so wrapped up in what I'm thinking about, I've barely considered you." She paused, and tried to start again. "So, have you remembered anything today? About your past? About climbing into a meteorite?"

The Riolu shook his head. "Just my name still. And that I'm supposed to be human." It was like Adrian's head was playing games with him. Why remember only his name, and no one else? Why remember that he was a human, when we was not one anymore? "I doubt that you believe me."

"No, it's okay. I do believe you! You don't strike me as the type of 'mon—" she looked up and he shrugged to pardon her, " _human_ , to lie about something like that."

"Thanks, I guess."

The Chikorita hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe something happened while you were in that meteorite. After all, spending days in there could've done something to your memory."

Adrian choked on what he heard. "I was in a meteorite for how long, exactly?"

"At least two days. Just like incubating an egg!" Foliga smiled at the comparison.

"Two days," he repeated incredulously. "I was deprived of air for more than two days. Yes, that would do _something_ to me, let alone my memory."

They sat comfortably in the lapse of the conversation, nothing more than the crackling fire to fill the air. The sky was overcast, which blocked to moon, and their only source of light was that fire, as if the rest of the world had disappeared where the heat of it could not reach.

Foliga pulled away from the fire to look at him. "The specifics don't matter. I'll help you figure out everything that you forgot. I promise."

"Cool. And I'll lend a hand with… whatever you're doing, I suppose?"

"Saving the real Septime. And then the Mountaineers. Then, we go back and save Paradise Village."

 _Sounds easier said than done,_ Adrian thought. The campfire lasted a little longer until it became gentle embers. Then he finally yawned and they wished each other goodnight. He had no more trouble closing his eyes, or falling asleep on the itchy leaves.

When morning followed Adrian awoke blissfully in much better condition and spirits than the day before. Foliga responsibly cleaned up the fire pit while he swept away their makeshift beds, effectively erasing the traces of their campsite. With a new spring to their step they joined the highway to continue traveling.

Foliga was in significantly higher spirits after a proper night of rest. The Chikorita spent the entire midday telling Adrian everything that had happened leading up to him emerging out of the meteorite. She told him about his meteorite landing in the carvings, which attracted the attention of a guild called the Mountaineers. About how she fought for the position to retrieve the meteorite with a Servine named Septime, the one that the Zorua nights earlier impersonated. She also mentioned a smaller meteorite she personally found containing an orange jewel. "I expected more jewels to come out of the bigger one, not you." Foliga sighed. "The Captain has it now. I gave it to him before all these other things happened."

"Maybe you can ask for it back," Adrian said. He had meant it to be hopeful, but knew better than to start raising expectations. Because that was better than any odds concerning the Mountaineers. Or Paradise Village for that matter.

The only thing that impeded their progress was a conspicuous signpost marking another path in the road. "There's another town that way," she read aloud, "but it's not Bargain Town." That was all she needed to dismiss the idea, and continued past the sign.

Pleasures like food and proper shelter sounded too good for Adrian to pass up lightly. "Let's not be hasty about this. Isn't another town worth at least to visit?" He way willing to tell Foliga anything to make her reconsider, without sounding too pleading. "Maybe someone there can point us in the right direction."

"I'm sure we're already heading the right way."

"It doesn't hurt anyone to double-check, though." That was all before he got a chance to read the sign himself:

 **This way to Volatile Village —**

 **— This way to Seafoam Village DO NOT ENTER**

Not quite sure what the ' _DO NOT ENTER'_ out portion meant, he ignored it. The name of the village on top was what glared out to him. _What an on-the-nose name for a place._ "I mean, uh, We've been wrong about first impressions before!"

"Sorry. It's just not worth getting side tracked by."

A shift in the air caught his mind, practically freezing him in place. The Riolu could feel a sharp, cold wind, even in the spring afternoon. His body was reluctant to move, it strained him to jump off the highway into unsuspicious shrubbery. "Get down here!"

Foliga cocked her head to one side, standing firmly in place. "Adrian? What are you doing?"

"Quickly!" he hissed. Thankfully, the grass-type did hide with him this time, still holding onto her bewildered expression.

Down the road came a tightly knit group of pokemon. While they were still too far away to precisely identify, their vague silhouettes and forms left Adrian's mind to fill in the details. The biggest was quadrupled with a long neck and head, bigger than the others it was surrounded by even if they stacked on top of one another. The smallest was coincidentally the loudest and levitated through the air. They bolstered about their previous accomplishments as they walked out of the road that would have led them to Volatile Village.

 _Outlaws_ was the first word that came to Adrian's mind. But there were still too many unknowns; were they vagabonds like he and Foliga, or apart of a larger group? Could it be possible the pokemon were members of the aforementioned Mountaineers? Or maybe they were apart of the bandits that attacked the Copper Carvings?

As they drew closer, their voices became intelligible from one another. "I can't believe we caught our third one today!" the youngest one said. "What are gonna do? We can't hold any more!"

"Nah, we'll just send them to another team to process, not a big deal." The second one, unmistakably a female, paused. "Hey, are you listenin' to us? Watcha lookin' at over there?"

"…I can't see you." It was a deep voice.

"Pardon?"

"I can't see you," they repeated, "but I know you're there. Come on out, and make this easy for us."

The Riolu's body knotted into itself. He covered his muzzle with his hand, hating himself for the rustling sound that the motion inevitably caused. _He's… talking to_ _us_ _. How did they_ _know_ _?_

"You can't stay in there forever. Come forward."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could practically see Foliga mouthing words to him. _Run. She'll cover for me._

"If you know what's good for you, then you better do what he says!"

Foliga's mouth continued to move, repeating it over and over like a mantra to abide. _Run..! Run..!_

Adrian began running. He put his back to the road and Foliga and even the outlaws. If he were to be thankful for one thing, being a fighting-type was proving to be useful for the sudden burst of energy. Focusing on putting as much distance between those things, jumping over mossy boulders and logs, he had to make sure to stay in a straight enough line. After it was said and done he and Foliga needed a path back onto the highway.

For the longest time it was just him and his raspy breathing through the dense forest. He expected shouting, either from the Chikorita or from the outlaws, but hearing nothing was worse. When he finally felt safe to steal a glance behind him revealed only the hazy trees that seemed go on forever. The Riolu spun around. More trees in every direction. Where Adrian had ran in suddenly seemed so far away from him, the trees and terrain blended together, and in a few more turns of his body he forgot which way he was heading towards to begin with.

 _What..? How?_

He just had to pick a direction and continue. Only this time, Adrian felt the earlier burst of energy disappear, feeling like he awoke in the Copper Carvings all over again, a certain stupor which he was becoming far too intimate with. Except he did not have someone to guide him this time, and the Riolu carried himself practically by the scruff of his own neck.

Swinging forward, the Riolu felt no more ground beneath his feet, and _gave in._ Closed his eyes. He let his pokemon body tumble down, his limbs and back hitting branches, groaning weakly whenever something hard collided into his head or stomach. When he reached the bottom, he did not get up right away and groveled in his misery.

It was a struggle to open his eyes. Adrian could barely see in front of him. Tall trunks of trees he could not see the leaves of, hidden by an ominous fog. Dead patches of grass left markers of some semblance of a trail to follow. Behind him was the hill too steep to climb up, even if he did find the strength to try.

* * *

 **Basin of Clouds**

 **1F**

* * *

The trees became his markers. Adrian stumbled towards one after another, he had to rely on them until his vision focused. _What does she think she's doing, this impulse to protect me?! …I shouldn't have ran. I should've stayed with her. Tried to fight those outlaws off with Foliga. Then, at least we could've been captured_ _together_ … _now I'm just lost. And tired. And hungry. And a bit— wait, who's that?_

Another pokemon up ahead was crouching, rummaging through something while muttering to itself. Adrian hesitated. His last few attempts at talking to anyone outside Foliga did not go too smoothly, and in his current condition, was not keen on having to face pokemon so unfriendly. Putting that all aside, he carefully approached from behind, making sure to step around twigs or grass or anything that would make noise.

The brown fur and bushy ringtail marked it as a Sentret, to no doubt from Adrian. It's body was small enough in proportion that it wrapped itself into a nest as it toyed with something Adrian could not see. When he was finally close enough to loom behind it… he stomped on its tail. "Hey!" The Sentret, as he wanted, squeaked in surprise and tried to scramble away, but found itself trapped under the Riolu's foot. "Good, now you wouldn't happen to know how to _talk,_ would you? I need to get— whoa!"

Somehow the Sentret yanked its tail free, taking away Adrian's step and balance. He fell onto his posterior with an embarrassing _thump._ Looking back up, their positions were ultimately reversed; the Sentret used its tail to gain another body's worth of height, and growled down at him.

Adrian laughed. "You forgot to do the same to me!" With both of his legs the fighting-type swept them right under the Sentret's only support, now _its_ turn to fall. And for good measure, Adrian scrambled and kicked it in its side, hard. Another squeak in pain. The Sentret abandoned the fight then, picking itself up and on all limbs dashed into the fog, where it was enveloped without leaving a trace to follow. "Yeah, you better run! Better luck next time!" _Definitely didn't talk, and definitely wasn't friendly. Am I in another one of those dungeons?_

Turning away, Adrian looked back to where he initially found the other pokemon, and _gasped._ It was a pile of colorful fruits, ranging colors from red and blue and yellow, some of them were already bitten into and left like the eater had not enjoyed the taste. _Food! Honest to goodness food!_ Adrian scurried over and picked through it all. A small bit of him felt bad that he scared away the pokemon from it's hard-earned stash, but hard to tell under the sharp smelling citrus and the sound of his belly reminding how hungry it was. _I've been a bully to it enough, so maybe just one or two…_

* * *

 **Basin of Clouds**

 **2F**

* * *

He trotted forward happily holding his prizes. In one hand was an apple with a bite already taken, and in the other was a slightly mushy oran berry. While the apple was as he expected, sweet and acidic enough to make his canine-like teeth ache, the smaller fruit was new to him; the oran berry had large pores and short hairs that were easy to bite into, but tasted a peculiar bittersweet that Adrian coughed at the taste it left in the back of his mouth.

It was on a good start as any. He would not let a mystery dungeon get the better of him this time. _No repeat performances of what happened at Paradise,_ he thought confidently, taking another bite from the apple.

The lights began to appear when Adrian was halfway through. He stopped dead in his tracks, stupidly holding each fruit as two yellow glowing orbs bounced around in the air. They jingled pleasant chimes with each swish back and forth, that seemed to echo through the fog and around him. Then, after entertaining him for what seemed like an eternity, the lights dimmed back into the fog. Tempting him to follow.

And he did. Wordlessly and thoughtlessly, he hurried in its direction. The voice telling him to _reconsider_ was faint, but as long as he held onto his food, he could explore until he found some way out, as he did with Foliga at Paradise Village. The process of moving his limbs was faint too. Adrian realized all of him was like this, and shook off the hypnosis, but by then the mystery dungeon had done its job. Now he was more lost than ever.

Sounds of running startled him, and Adrian turned around into a faceful of Stantler, whose orbs sounded like bells with every leap through the fog. Like an enigmatic vision, if it did not try to run him over. But the Riolu was too slow to react, and the Stantler's charge toppled him over where he was pinned between its forelegs. The wild pokemon said nothing as it raised its hooves up and ready to bring them down on his head.

Adrian had only one way to defend himself. He sneaked his arm free, and threw his apple, his precious apple, point-blank into the Stantler's face. That did not stop it from finishing its attack, but the counter was enough to miss his head and for him to get up. Adrian was frustrated that it costed him his apple but knew better than to vent it at the Stantler.

It did not need a reason to attack him. So did Adrian need one too?

"Eat this!" He chucked the remaining oran berry at the Stantler's head. But this time, the Stantler caught it. With its _mouth._ "Oh, come on!"

The orbs on its antlers began to change color. As the last of his oran berry was eaten, they turned into a bright purple before darkening into sicklier shades. Then, haze of a similar color expelled out of the Stantler's mouth that mixed in with the surrounding fog. Adrian coughed when he breathed it in and promptly covered his mouth. _Poison? From the berry?_ He coughed more, feeling the purple haze burn his eyes, burn his throat. He tried to back away from the fog and Stantler, whom the last he saw of stood in the middle of it with immunity.

He collapsed to his knees by a nearby tree. Waiting the haze out was the only thing he could think to do, and hope the Stantler did not take note of the advantage it had. So when it was finally over and the Riolu could open his eyes, he looked around… and found nothing.

This, for some reason, was more frustrating than the alternative he imagined. "You lousy— did you just want my food?! Well, fine! I didn't want to finish those anyway!"

* * *

 **Basin of Clouds**

 **3F**

* * *

In his list from earlier, Adrian crossed out the words _tired_ and _hungry._ Now he was plain _angry._

That word reverberated in his mind with everything he did. When walking through the mist, the Riolu was reminded of the ends of his mask, the floppy parts, and tugged on them to vent. _I hate these things! I hate being a pokemon!_

The poisonous haze had stopped irritating his eyes eventually but that did little to please him. Only a few things would change his mood: one relied on Adrian finding Foliga, somehow unharmed from the outlaws which he knew would be doubtful; the other involved finding that Stantler and enacting revenge.

He walked longer along the lines of bare dirt until he was at a split in the path. The fork was marked with a wavy staff the size of his Riolu body, that twisted into a fine spiral on one end. Pulling the staff out of the dirt, Adrian inspected it with both hands. As a fine, winding branch that had the grain mysteriously sanded off, he could use it as a makeshift walking stick. _Or maybe as a weapon, the end is sharp enough to dig into the dirt… Did someone put this here on purpose?_ In any case, he accepted it as his, and headed down the path that went right.

The staff gave him something to hold tightly onto instead of his mask. Whenever the grass would rustle around him, he wringed his paws around the wood. In almost every direction something toyed with his hearing. The sounds of waving branches morphed into harsh laughter, mocking him. Heartbeats were in time to chanting that picked up and started drawing closer, and Adrian tried to run, but the chanting only followed.

"I'm not in the mood for this," he thought aloud. Moving into a small clearing, the safest place to be was in the middle, and he braced his walking stick in front of him while scanning everywhere for enemies. "Quit messing with me! If there's so many of you, come out here and fight me!"

As if to oblige, they did. A rounded Sentret popped from behind a tree, and Adrian would not be surprised if it was the same one from earlier in the dungeon. But before he could have time to say anything, a _second_ Sentret followed after it. From the other corner of the clearing, a _third._ Then a _fourth_ … He stopped counting after _twenty,_ and so the mob effectively fenced him in the clearing with their bodies. Making sure there were no gaps in their defense, their leader, a Furret, stepped in.

The Furret was huge compared to its underlings and even him, and it had no right to be, to the point of being unfair. The biggest part of its long body could be compared to four of the Sentrets grouped together. When it stood on its hind legs, Adrian craned his head up to stare into his beady and feral eyes, which took his attention off from the others. The Furret mewled to the rest of its entourage, which cheered it on as it coiled back, ready to pounce on him.

He gulped. It did not help that the crowd was actively rooting against him. The Furret began to charge, the cheering turned ballistic, and Adrian wound his walking stick back to smack it with the blunt end—

He swung, but the wood started to glow. A dim light emitted from the center of the spiral, gently floating forward with a trail of glitter, until it touched the Furret's body.

 _BOOM!_ The light ignited and consumed the Furret in a controlled and dense explosion. The pokemon rocketed back and crashed into a handful of its followers. The crowd went silent. Adrian went silent.

He swung again. _BOOM!_ The explosion happened again, capturing the Furret and a few unlucky Sentret. Now, Adrian perfectly understood what it was he held. The crowd of Sentret scattered in every direction, and Adrian went to work swinging at whichever one dared to get too close.

 _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

* * *

 **Basin of Clouds**

 **4F**

* * *

There was a certain beauty to using his cane. With a flick of his arm, he summoned wave after wave of gentle glitter that was so unassuming of the true power it was capable of. The bursts of light and fire were perfectly round that swelled in size and then dwindled, leaving a vacuum in air that the ominous fog fell back in to replace. _Just think about what I could have done to those outlaws if I had this thing. But first thing's first, I still need to find a way out of here._

The lights began to appear again when Adrian was halfway through. This time, there were three orbs of light bouncing in coordination through the fog. And this time, Adrian grinned in anticipation. _My revenge._ The bell chimes had not began to ring in his mind, so he knew that the Stantler had not noticed him, that he had the advantage.

He aimed his staff at the lights' direction. _BOOM!_ They were engulfed by the larger flash of sound and heat, but when it dissipated, the original lights were still there. With a huff, Adrian charged closer to his target. Pursuing them as they were close to disappearing, he chased after the Stantler, evolving from a purposeful stride into a deranged sprint. "No! You get back here!" In a last ditch effort, he leaped for the lights, grappling onto the Stantler's horns and pummeling its head in with his free fist. "You can't run from me! I got more fruits to give you! Yeah, right here!"

But a number of things were wrong. What he thought were horns were slippery tentacles that were difficult to hold onto. Adrian dragged whatever pokemon he actually caught down from the air and wrestled to keep it from escaping. "G-gah, what's this one doing?! Glam, get this thing off me!"

Adrian felt a pair of paws on his shoulders on his back, then something sharp dig into his shoulder. He tried to push away the second attacker but let go of the first one doing so. "Let go of me!"

Suddenly, the sharp pain in his shoulder stopped. "What? The Riolu's talkin'!"

"I can do more than talk!"

"Get that blast wand out of his hands!"

He pushed from away from the two pokemon and staggered far away. His walking stick he dropped was now in the wrapped tentacles of… _An Inkay? What's an Inkay doing here?_ The psychic-dark-type fumed with anger, the lights on his head flickering on and off, but otherwise did not move to attack him.

The second pokemon that buried its fangs into his shoulder revealed itself to be a Glameow. "There aren't Riolu in the Basin of Clouds. The spotted list has Sentret, Absol, Stantler, Spinda…" Her voiced trailed off to recall the rest of her list.

"You are correct. And this Riolu speaks." Adrian froze. The voice was deep, unfaltering, and unmistakeable. He pushed around to face the Zebstrika that it belonged to. Being primarily white and black made it easy to blend into the fog and sneak up. But the peculiar color and pattern of his bore into Adrian's own. "Are you Adrian?" It was not quite a question.

He found it hard to more his head and eyes, let alone speak. _They have my staff._ _Can I do anything against them?_ "Can I help you with something?" he asked back, devoted to giving the pokemon a hard time.

"Hello? Everyone? I found another way to cross the— Adrian!"

LIke a dream, Adrian turned to see Foliga in the flesh, untouched and unscathed. She still carried her exploring bag on one side that was now partially filled with items found in the mystery dungeon. The Chikorita pushed her leaf to one side to inspect him better. "Why did you run away?" she asked

He blinked rapidly at her. "You told me to!"

"I did no such thing!" Foliga glanced worriedly between him and the other pokemon, before controlling her own expression. "It doesn't matter anymore, because we found you. But Adrian, what happened to you?"

It brought the attention to his own physical appearance. Adrian had spots of dirt and grass, he felt his eyelids twitch in a frenzy, and probably smelled like smoke to the others thanks to the staff. "I _…_ fell down a hill. It's been a long day for me." _Please, please don't let this be an allusion. Please don't let this be a trap._ "Who are these other pokemon?"

Foliga gleefully looked at the others. "It's okay, Adrian. These are the good guys. Do you see their badges?" Sure enough, the Inkay had one on below his face, and the Glameow and Zebstrika had theirs between their chests and necks. "When I came out of hiding from the highway, we talked everything out."

The Zebstrika nodded, respectfully inputting on their reunion. "The Mystics are at your service. We were heading home from Volatile Village, apprehending a few outlaws ourselves."

"See Adrian? We just had—"

"A huge misunderstanding." Adrian buried his face in his paws. It was becoming a long day, indeed. " _…_ Okay. Whatever."

"Then I suppose quick introductions are in order," the Zebstrika announced. "My name is Zio, leader of our team, the Mystics. I apologize for my rueful tone on the highway. Never meant to scare you kids." Zio sounded nothing like he did before, and he chuckled sincerely at his own error. "You can never be too careful these days, aye?"

Next was the Glameow, who since checked out of the conversation to clean her forepaws, but when called upon did the bipedal equivalent of a curtsey with her name. "I'm Glamorous."

"And _I'm_ tired," Adrian muttered. Foliga shot a silent look to scold him.

"Don't like it? Call me Glam like Turby does," she said with a huff.

"I'm Turby! Nice to meet you!" The Inkay did a twirl through the air, oblivious to his mention in the prior exchange.

Zio the Zebstrika plucked his exploring badge from his chest. "Now, would you two wait for us outside the entrance to the Basin?"

Foliga's eyes lit up in knowing and anticipation. "You're going to teleport us out of the dungeon, right?"

Adrian shot up. _What happened to completing the dungeon or fainting? But teleporting? That sounds like cheating!_ Before that would happen, he went to Turby who still held onto his walking stick, or whatever else they called it. "Sorry for hitting you earlier. Can I have that back?"

The Inkay squinted at him, debating if that would be a good idea. "Just don't go pointing it at anyone!" he scolded.

With a quick _thank you,_ Adrian stood still at Foliga's side, the blast wand close to his chest. The fog cleared around his feet and something was lighting him from underneath that casted shadows up on his face. He was lifted in the air by that same mysterious force effortlessly as the light began to grow harsher. Like falling asleep, he did not even realize that his senses went away. Perhaps leaving the mystery dungeon this way _was_ cheating, but was far more comfortable than any other way, he imagined.


	7. A Lukewarm Reception

It was strange for Adrian to be around other pokemon, excluding Foliga, that were not trying to actively harm him.

But he was happy to realize that his initial thoughts of the exploring team were not at all true. When the Mystics completed the Basin of Clouds mystery dungeon, all five of them combined into a merry group that traveled together down the highway. "For what it's worth, thanks for coming to find me," Adrian said.

Zio the Zebstrika chuckled. "Foliga here made a bargain we couldn't refuse. She could fit in nicely at our expedition society, if she so desired."

"Bargain? And where are we going exactly?"

He turned to the Chikorita in mention, her smile radiating success. "Bargain Town! I got everything all covered, so don't worry."

"The exact same one we happen to be heading?"

"Like I said, I already went over this with them—"

"She sure did!" Glamorous the Glameow chimed in with a bemused tone. "Sure is funny though, because you two were going in practically the _opposite direction."_

"Ooh, were we now?" He looked in time to see Foliga's expression turn rightfully embarrassed, who pretended to pay attention somewhere up and left of them. "Then it's a good thing you found us when you did."

"In exchange for her information, of sorts." The mention of _information_ settled unkindly on the Mystics, as if the word itself soured the entire conversation.

"What, you mean you wouldn't have looked for me if she hadn't?"

That had made the Mystics share a laugh like it was an in-joke, and Adrian did not receive another more straightforward answer. Turby the Inkay zoomed close to his face, prodding the side of the Riolu's head with a tentacle. "So we all have Foliga's story for the books, but what's your deal?"

Adrian did not want to be accused of attacking the Inkay, se he did his best to gingerly lower the pokemon's accusative hand. "There's not much to say, sorry." Then he realized that everyone's eyes were on him. Apparently, he was that big of a mystery. "Well, now that you mention it, there actually is something. The truth is that I'm…"

He knew what he _wanted_ to say, and it should have been easy for him. But he felt the weight of Foliga's eyes, and his met hers. From where the Mystics could not see, the grass-type was slowly, purposefully, shaking her head side-to-side. He understood, but still furrowed his brows at her. _Why don't you want me telling them that I'm a human?_

In the present, Turby tried to finish his sentence. "You're..?"

"I'm… I don't remember. Besides my name, I can't remember a thing about myself. I can't even remember how I forgot." It was not a complete lie, after all.

"Fog in the noggin?" Glamorous said sympathetically. "Sorry, kiddo."

Zio stepped forward. "You're smart to come looking here. Bargain Town is becoming a big place, so someone's bound to recognize you."

"Wait, here?" Foliga gasped. "We're at Bargain Town already?"

"Just over that hill, after the break in the trees. Just be careful, it's pretty steep—"

Without warning, Foliga darted forwards and almost out of sight before Adrian hesitantly followed, not wanting be left alone with the Mystics. The forest was far behind him as the highway turned sharply to go around the giant hill mentioned, and that was where he found Foliga scrambling to the top. "Wait up!" The Riolu used his arms to help ascend the hill, and joined the Chikorita's side as they looked down upon their destination together.

Bargain Town stood out as a huge sprawl of gray against the greener hills and forest that they exited. Buildings were hardly ever the same levels stood close together that that casted shadows over the roads. A light smog permeated over it all that hid how large the town really was, and it seemed to go on forever. But the silhouette of a large building with a dome on top stood forebodingly at the heart where all the main streets eventually led to. Each street was brimming with movement, like water in a stream, dense with pokemon of nameless variety.

"…This isn't like Paradise Village," Foliga stammered. "This isn't anything like Paradise, not in the slightest."

"Enjoying the view?" Turby and the other Mystics caught up, enjoying their reactions at the town. The Inkay innocently patted the Riolu and Chikorita on their heads. "Ooh, I love not being the new kid anymore! I can't wait to show you around!"

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7: A Lukewarm Reception**_

* * *

When the road transitioned from dirt to stone, a huge Snorlax cut off the party from proceeding any further into the town, flanked by a Palpitoad and Bronzor. Each of them bore the same exploring badge on their bodies that the Mystics did, and their postures visibly relaxed when the two teams drew closer together. "Welcome home, Mystics," greeted the Palpitoad to Zio.

"The Blues! Got the short stick today with guard duty, aye?"

"Someone has to. Who're the two kids?"

"Guests. They're going to see the base."

Adrian looked skeptically at Foliga, who reassured him with a nod. Otherwise, he tried to not look about being addressed so indirectly. The rest of the Blues stood aside and said their farewells to the other team, allowing them to pass without incident.

The main roads were the widest, as they had to be in order to accommodate so many pokemon in numbers and variety. The well-weathered stones underneath were a variety of shades and colors as a testament to how much had been redone. The buildings and apartments on either side sometimes turned into alleyways and smaller roads, but there in the middle of it all Adrian was funneled forward or risk be trampled by the crowds of pokemon.

The Riolu quickly found out how he was on the smaller side of the height spectrum; there were smaller pokemon such as Rattata and Togedemaru that always traveled in tight packs, but larger pokemon like Armaldo and Torterra got priority on the roads. Once, he even saw another Riolu laughing alongside a band of fighting-types. "Hey Foliga, check that out—"

 _Thump._ An unusually tall Nidoking growled down at him. "Watch where you're walking, boy."

"Sorry, sorry…"

"You two!" Zio's voice yelled above the ambient conversations. "Stay close to us! Hold onto each other if you must! The early afternoons are the worst time for traffic."

"Foliga?" She was dragging behind him, mouth and eyes hanging wide open. Her head turned everywhere trying to take in as much as possible. _If that Nidoking trampled over her, she probably wouldn't have noticed_. "Remember to breathe! Did you hear what the Zebstrika said? Stay close!"

"Uh," she dragged her attention away from everything else to focus on him. "Right. Sorry!"

Guiding the Chikorita by the leaf, it was up to him to keep up with the Mystics.. It was hard enough to pay close attention to their wake let alone seamlessly darting through the traffic as they could. Catching sight of the Glameow's coiled tail dart down another street, he pursued to regroup with the Mystics as they caught their breath in a small plaza. "Maybe we shouldn't, you know, be takin' the busiest roads?" Glamorous said sharply.

"I know! Let's cut through the commercial district!" Turby suggested, almost too eagerly. "I mean, theoretically, it should be less crowded there than the streets."

Zio nodded. "Not a bad idea. But I'm warning you now, we're only passing through, so don't make this an excuse to—"

"Let's go!" The Inkay was already darted off in another direction.

The five cut through more alleys and plazas, ascending and descending small flights of stairs, wherever the pokemon familiar to the town directed Adrian and Foliga went. The local residents were shuffling out and in of their homes that parted away when the alleys were too narrow. For pokemon of similar likeness, some of these smaller plazas were _their_ plaza. Each tailored to the communities, whether it be brick and mortar burrows, networks of treehouses, or giant buildings for the pokemon that could not live comfortably in the copy-paste apartments.

At last, the town opened to reveal row upon row of stands and shops. "Welcome to the Bargain Belt!" It was arguably the best kept outdoors area in the entire town, and the pokemon that worked there aimed to make it look appealing. Colorful bricks that replaced drab stone weaved swirling patterns that Adrian could follow. Huge sailcloth stretched across the alleys to provide shade, tinting everything underneath red, blue, yellow, whatever color the cloth was. "This street was here before the town was even started," Turby explained, becoming their tour guide. "At first, it was just a circle of traders at a convenient crossroad. Or so I've been told. But isn't that how all towns start?"

Adrian cupped his hands around his eyes. "Just how long does this street go on for?"

"Actually, it circles around the whole town. Hence the name!"

It seemed like anything anyone could want was at the Bargain Belt. Piles of golden seeds, apples, and berries of all kinds were abundant. Some stores only sold a single specialty while some had items pulled from a junkyard. Adrian really liked the places that sold novelty stuff; the fashionable fabrics, toys, and musical devices were things the human-turned-pokemon never considered regular pokemon to be interested in. Whether they were sitting humbly on mats or owned a walk-in shop, the vendors made a pass at anyone to sell their wares. The keen, older pokemon with unique riches knew their tongues would be wasted on the rough-looking Riolu and Chikorita, but not on the Mystics. The younger sellers that came with their older siblings still reached out, still learning the trade. _Sorry, it's not like I have any money of my own to spend._

By far the most amusing one was the lone Kecleon that stood behind his simple table, but had undoubtedly the biggest warehouse of items behind him. The normal-type did not even say anything to anyone, standing still with a tight-lipped smile. Like he did not feel the need to fish for customers, and _they_ would come to _him._ "Look at that one," Adrian pointed out to Foliga, "what do you think his deal is?"

"His deal is," Glamorous answered, "he and his family supply everything that the Bargain Town Expedition Society uses. And he sellls to no one unless they have one of our badges."

"We are still free to use our poké anywhere else." Zio pointed out, excusing himself from the vendors that approached him. "It comes down to, 'where can I find the best price?'"

Foliga hummed. "But isn't that rude? I mean, it sure seems convenient to have a 'mon like that sell to you whenever and whatever you wanted."

"Those Kecleon have business quite literally wherever the sun shines. They aren't losing anything. Besides, he's a businessman, surely he understands."

 _Prrrrrp-prrrrrp! Prrrrrp-prrrrrp!_

"That's someone's badge!" Foliga exclaimed.

"Right you are! And it's mine." Glamorous found privacy to answer near one of the empty stalls. Even if the Bargain Belt was empty, she and the voice at the other end of the exploring badge swapped stories in whispers that no one else could hear. Her uneven frown tempered the expectations of her teamates as she returned. "Ugh, It's a real showstopper."

"What happened?"

"Well, the Showstoppers have suspicious travelers at their east patrol. They requested for us, or rather you specifically," she gestured to Zio, "flexing' your rank to help their investigation."

"That's troublesome." The Zebstrika flicked his ears back and forth. "Did you tell them we are already in a mission?"

"Sure did. But these pokemon they mentioned knew their stuff. Like, throwin' out loopholes that only her Graciousness could argue against."

They nervously paused. The group took a large space out of the road that caused disgruntled pokemon to work around them. "If they truly need only me," Zio answered carefully, "Then only I will go. How many pokemon did the Showstoppers actually stop?"

"About twenty."

"Twenty," he huffed out. "Glamorous, I can't handle that many on my own, even with the four Showstoppers. I may need you to come with me…"

The Zebstrika and Glameow looked at each other, and as if they shared thoughts, looked together at their third teammate. Turby the Inkay was in his own little world, floating about without a care, picking up and putting back everything at the shops that he could. "Turby! Mission!"

"Mission! I'm ready!" The dark-psychic-type was quick to report in front of the others.

"Glamorous and I are going to the east gate. We need you to escort Foliga and Adrian to the expedition society base on your own. Yes?"

"Yes!"

"No loitering. No getting distracted. Yes?"

"Yes!"

Zio nodded. Then he turned his attention to Adrian and Foliga. "So, this is where we must separate. Not forever, I assure you! When our business is done, We will see you again at our base."

Glamorous leaned close to the duo to be away from the Inkay's hearing. "Don't let him buy anything," she added for good measure.

Foliga nodded, accepting the duty. Adrian crossed his arms. If anything, he would preferred to keep the five of them together, even if it meant waiting through the Mystics' other duties. _Are they seriously leaving him in charge of us, or is this the other way around?_ But regardless of his feelings, Glamorous and Zio said their goodbyes and departed down the empty alleys in an eastward direction, disappearing into the urban wilderness. Then it was just Adrian and Foliga again. Plus Turby.

"Alright fellas, this way! Next stop is the expedition base!" He led them through more of the marketplace, keeping a surprisingly careful eye that the two unfamiliar pokemon were close. His eyes were wide and full of enthusiasm for traversing the crowded Bargain Town, making up for the other two's lack thereof. "Aww this is so cool! I love not being the new guy! But it's totally okay, I can remember how lost I first was here. When you've spent a few months here, you'll get a sense of direction, even if you still don't know the majority of street names."

Meanwhile, Adrian turned his concern to the Chikorita. Something was obviously troubling her, and it was coursing through the stuffy air that mixed with the hum of ongoing traffic. "How do you feel about this place now that you're actually here?"

"It's… a lot. I just don't know. Not yet, at least." She sighed. "Adrian, I have no clue what some of these pokemon even _are_."

"A lot to take in, yeah. If you want, I can point out the ones you don't know."

Foliga gave him peculiar look. "You can remember the names of pokemon, but not your own memories?"

He answered with a shrug. "Things are spotty, but I remember certain bits of knowledge. Hey, I'm trying to figure things out as much as you are… Speaking of which, what're we going to do after this whole exploring team stuff?"

"It's a bad idea to stay here if what we're looking for isn't. Soon, we'll have to think about where to stay, where to start looking, what to eat…"

Turby turned around, cheerful and unaware of their planning. "Eat? You guys are hungry?

The two looked up at him. "We're quite alright. Though thank you for the offer."

"What, are you sure?" The Inkay sounded almost disappointed. "I know some really good places you guys might like."

"Maybe we can think about food after we reach your base?" Foliga offered.

"Come on, please? We won't have to waste time reading a menu, I'll cover it. These restaurants aren't too out of the way or anything."

 _That_ had piqued Adrian's interest. He gently elbowed Foliga's side. _Prepared food, Foliga. And he's offering to pay. Don't be a fool!_

Thankfully his thoughts reached hers, and the Chikorita nodded. "Okay, Turby. Lead the way."

And so the three of them hurried out of the Bargain Belt. Heading closer towards the town's center brought a change of style to the architecture that showed Adrian how much creativity these pokemon put into making long-lasting structures that appealed to enough epscies. The complexes were grander, bigger, and most likely costly to sustain. The stretches of parks had fountains inspired by pokemon that tied together a particular theme, such as the Comfey Park that zig-zagged lines of pastel flowers between the light posts.

Their destination was a two-story restaurant built upon an incline. While it was as nice as all the other buildings in the area, it was the only one that used wooden supports to create decks on both floors to allow more sitting arrangements for customers. Lights inside flickered with movement and boisterous conversation. In large print the words ' _exploring pains'_ was written atop the second balcony.

Adrian looked nervously around. The establishment thankfully did not discriminate pokemon of their body type, as it was refurbished with tables, ground mats, chairs, stalls, and even a small waterway. But over the majority of customers there had the same golden exploring badge pinned somewhere on their bodies for all to see, like the Mystics did. Though the conversations carried on, Adrian felt bright-hot embarrassment shine down on him. _Just what kind of place is this?_

"I'll go order for us. Where do you wanna sit?" Turby said.

"Probably somewhere outside, on the ground level." The Riolu messed with the edges of his mask. "The inside feels a bit crowded and stuffy."

Adrian hurriedly scanned and claimed an out-of-the-way table, with three cushions for each of them. Foliga sat on the one opposite of him. And for the longest time, they just looked aimlessly around. "So…"

"So. Please tell me you noticed the same thing I did."

"That most of these pokemon are from the expedition society?" She nodded. "Almost instantly."

His eyes darted around the deck, checking to see that no one's eyes were on them. "Maybe they don't care? Or haven't noticed us yet?"

"It shouldn't be that much of an issue. I mean, they can't kick us out, can they? Oh dear, that's why Turby wanted to order…"

"Maybe." He looked out to the road, and watched the pokemon passing by, just going about their lives. The sun was halfway between the top of the sky and the western horizon that allowed the building to cast stout shadows. By that hour, the crowds were thankfully starting to thin where he could actually see to the other side of the street.

That was when he saw them. Hidden in the shadows of the alley across from the restaurant were three pokemon. The first two were a Machop and Golem. Their backs were turned from Adrian and the road, focusing entirely on the third pokemon. A Pyroar, and denoted by its long thin mane, a female Pyroar. Adrian had no clue what was happening; he was too far away to listen, and it was hard to tell what kind of meeting it was. So he chose to continue watching from where he sat.

"…There's bound to be a library somewhere in Bargain Town. Maybe there's some records on humans there, and we can look up why they were turned into pokemon, as a point of reference. Adrian?" By then Foliga discovered that he was paying attention somewhere else. She followed his gaze, and turned her head to also see the three pokemon in the alley. "What are they doing? Do you recognize them?"

"I don't think so." By then, the Machop and Golem drew closer to the Pyroar, and the Pyroar backed away. Whether or not the fire-type knew she was backing into a dead end was unknown. The scene was moving so slowly that Adrian about ready to dismiss it.

Suddenly, the Machop kicked the Pyroar in the leg, bringing her down. The hairs on the Riolu's neck stood up, along with it the floodgates of dread that were there along, just frozen in anticipation until something did happen. The Golem moved in and planted its foot on her neck. The Machop continued to kick into the Pyroar's ribs as she was pinned to the stone. Now she was roaring in pain that devolved into smaller whines and whimpers. Surely none of the other passing pokemon were deaf! Yet, no one dipped into the alleyway, or even pause to behold the scene.

"I'm going to stop them," Foliga said plainly. Standing up and slinging her exploring bag around her neck.

"W-what? Wait! What about our food?!" Adrian jumped after her, right on her heels as she exited the deck and crossed the street. "Foliga, stop!"

"Stop? They're going to seriously hurt her unless someone stops _them_!" Foliga did not wave through the crowds, as more of barreling her way through to the other side.

"We can't!" he stammered.

"You're saying we should just stand by and let it happen?"

"I'm not— that isn't what I meant!" He grabbed both sides of his head. "Foliga, I mean we _shouldn't._ Let's go find an exploration team. The ones that are actually supposed to take on outlaws?"

But It was too late. Foliga stood at the entrance to the dead end alley, her frame and his cowering one a silhouette to the other three pokemon. "What's going on here?" Foliga announced. The Machop was ready for another kick when he stopped halfway. The fighting-type's head snapped to them and scowled.

"We're in the middle of some business," said the Machop darkly, "so can you excuse us?" On his chest was another exploring badge. And upon closer inspection the Golem had one too.

 _How can we get the authorities_ _if they_ _are_ _the authorities?_

To his surprise, Foliga stayed her ground, her mouth turning into a tight frown. "I want an explanation!" The Machop stepped over the Pyroar and sized up the Chikorita. Yet she still did not back down. "What did this 'mon ever do to you?"

"Oh, if you only knew the half of it. But I'll cut it short— our business is none of your business. Bad kids get punished when they stick their noses where they don't belong. Don't you know that?" Adrian stifled a laugh at the Machop's expense. Whatever trick or threats he typically used, the Chikorita still held onto her tight and indomitable stance. But instead of continuing on Foliga, he made a target out of the fellow fighting-type. "Find something funny, gutter punk?"

"Me? No, nothing," Adrian quickly replied. "We're not looking to start any trouble with you guys."

"Good," said the Golem, speaking for the first time. "At least that one has some smarts."

Foliga raised her voice to make her intentions clear. "If either of you have smarts of your own, you'll stop what you're doing before the Mystics hear about this!"

Both the Machop and Golem froze. They turned to each other, sharing the same look and same intentions. Foliga's frown creaked into a sly smile. But Adrian knew better. He could feel from the other pair the sharp beads of aversion rattle his own head and stomach. _Oh no. She thinks she's won with that threat._

"We don't have time for games," rumbled the Golem, applying more pressure to the Pyroar's neck, earning him a whimper.

"No, we don't." The Machop slipped his exploring bag off a shoulder, and pinned his badge to its strap to not get lost. Foliga understood her error then, and took a step back every time he took one forward. "Riolu, you're free to go. But it looks like someone here needs to learn a certain lesson…"

Adrian immediately moved between the two. "You want to fight us now?"

"Why not? Friends with the Mystics? We'll let them know exactly what our position is."

Adrian tensed. The Golem's focus was still on the Pyroar, so the only thing to worry about would be the Machop. If he took too long, or if he did something wrong, the fire-type would be the one at risk, not just him and Foliga. _I need to end this quick._ Somewhere behind him, Foliga held onto her exploring bag, and sticking out of it was his blast wand. He reached for the wooden staff and to keep the Machop's eyes on him said, "Listen, all that stuff about the Mystics? Don't know where that came from. If you have some issues with them, don't take it up with us." But still, he could not help but acknowledge his excitement at another chance to battle.

"But this'll send a way better message."

"Not as much as this will!" Adrian flourished the blast wand out and directed it at the Machop's face. He wished with all his being that it would be as easy when in the Basin of Clouds. He imagined for an all encompassing explosion to envelop the Machop, the stone alley, the nearby buildings, even the Golem. But none of that happened. Nothing happened. Not even a puff of smoke.

 _A dud!?_

The Machop guffawed at him. He punched the blast wand out of Adrian's hands, then he punched Adrian in the face, _hard_. The Riolu staggered back from the hit, disoriented but still on his feet. He rubbed his bruise to ease the throbbing pain, and let his eyes drill into his opponent's.

Then he threw himself onto the other fighting-type, letting his rage fuel the strikes at the other pokemon's head and chest. Before he could get any real damage in, the Machop expertly planted a foot on his chest and kick him away. "I've been doing this way longer than you have, gutter punk!"

"You better not make me come over there—!"

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the alleyway. Everyone paused to locate the sound, and were surprised to see that came from none other than the Pyroar. She summoned her saved strength to twist and escape from underneath the Golem's distracted hold on her. In three powerful bounds, she jumped off one building's side, then onto the other, then scrambled up the 'dead end' wall, and jumped down to the other side. It all happened in less than a few eye blinks, pausing the pokemon that were left in the alley.

Both of the pokemon's heads swiveled to them. "You've done it now," said the Golem.

The rock-type tucked in its limbs and revved itself with remarkable speed. The stones under him were being torn from the ground as it made its desire to run them over very apparent. Even his partner retreated to the corner of the alley his eyes wide in disarray.

Adrian and Foliga bolted out of the alley. They looked up and down the street flooded with pokemon. "Which way now?!"

"This way!" Foliga took lead and dragged the Riolu behind her. They ran closer to the center of Bargain Town and offering everyone she barged through with a meek "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" The idle chatter of residents became terrified screams somewhere behind them. "He's getting closer!"

"Turn here!" Adrian tugged her sharply to the side, but not into another street or alley, but into the open door of one of the townhouses. He was slow and loud thumping up the stairs. There was no time to admire the living spaces designed for pokemon in mind, when he was ignoring the yelling of residents and the reluctant Chikorita he towed.

"Adrian, we can't lead them here! Someone else is going to get hurt!"

They ran out of stairs, and the only place left to go was the roof. It was flattened enough to stand on, but nothing was stopping them from accidentally falling off the side. Every dozen blocks had a wooden water tower it provided to, and he could climb the nearest one if need be. The space between townhouses were narrow enough for Adrian to consider jumping across, but he was less confident if Foliga could do the same.

The pokemon below started to cry out, and the sounds of _something_ making its way up to the roof reverberated through the building, to the roof and up their feet. _All I did was drive us into a nice corner!_

The Machop and Golem climbed to the roof of the building, and now the two pairs of pokemon stared each other down from opposite sides. At that point, there was nothing left for Adrian to consider but irritating them. "I'm surprised the roof hasn't collapsed yet under your dumb fat body!" he taunted the Golem.

"That doesn't hurt my feelings," said the rock-type dryly. "If you come over here, we'll spare you a fraction of the pain you're due."

"You haven't even answered my original question!" accused Foliga.

"The only answer you're getting now is through my fists!" The Machop pounded them together to prove his point.

The Chikorita braced her leaf in front like a shield. A unique power was seemingly poured into it from the stem and up its veins. "Any closer and we will defend ourselves!" When they would not heed her warning, when the ledge behind them became dangerously closer, the grass-type twirled her leaf and out came duplicates spinning viciously at the two pokemon. The Machop ducked in time, grinning at her attempt to harm them. The Golem was less graceful, but still did not get hit with the attack.

But the leaves indeed hit their intended target. The supporting beams for the water tower creaked at her attack worked its way through. Making a loud sawing noise through the wood had drawn the attention of the pokemon beneath the tower and the foreboding lurching it did. Then launched even more leaves at the wood, that cut the tower to an unsteady tilt. The Machop and Golem scrambled to leave through the staircase that took them to the roof.

The shadow of the water tower finally fell upon Adrian and Foliga. "Hold onto something!" she yelled.

The tower burst, and a flood of water raced its way off the roof. Adrian tumbled in it, he felt the weightlessness of being carried away and closed his mouth and eyes to prevent any more from entering his body. Foliga was the closest thing, and he held onto her and she onto him just as tightly.

The only thing he could think of to use was the blast wand. He pulled it out with one hand, using his other to tuck Foliga under his arm. He outstretched the wand, and felt the end caught against something, holding them in place as the rest of the water threatened to throw them off the roof. Either he would lose his grip and fall, or be unable to hold his breath for any longer.

Finally, the water stopped flowing over them, leaving them hanging from the edge by the blast wand, dripping wet. Both of them were coughing out water, groaning and aching, but still intact. "Foliga, please climb up, I can't..!"

When she got back onto the roof, and helped him back up in turn, they collapsed to the ground. The Machop and Golem were thankfully nowhere in sight, and Adrian could only imagine the worst that happened as they were unluckier to react. The world was allowed to pause as they reoriented themselves. _The town seems to be have gotten awfully quiet…_

Adrian climbed to the edge facing the street, and gasped at the destruction. The water from the tower had continued to flow like a shallow river down the street, sweeping up the smaller townspeople and random items in its wake. Some remaining pieces of the tower were still on the roof with them, some were carried below, causing serious damage to other fountains and roads that turned into a flood reaction of chaos. The nearby Comfey Park was submerged in water that mixed with the soil to run mud everywhere.

Foliga crawled to join him on the ledge. Her eyes were wet, but not from the tower, and her eyes only seemed to grow wider as the sounds of lamenting pokemon seemingly echoed throughout Bargain Town. "I— oh no. I didn't think— Adrian, what have I _done_?"

He stood up. "So, uh, what was that you were saying about getting other pokemon hurt?"

She continued to stare out into the town, the sun reflecting on the water up at her. "Oh, I can't— what was I thinking? I wasn't!"

Below them, Adrian could already hear the deep chatter of pokemon below naturally raising questions about the incident. "We should probably leave."

"What?"

"I mean, is this the sort of thing you want to recognized for on our first day here?" The Riolu threw his hands up and around him. Something in the back of his mind, whether it was from a forgotten experience or philosophy, spoke for him. "We can argue about whose fault this was later. But for right now, let everyone think it was an accident."

She looked away at first. But after needing a moment she begrudgingly accepted. "Fine. But eventually, we _are_ telling someone that this was us."

"Thank you. And preferably to a team we actually know, like—"

"The Mystics!" Foliga gasped. "Turby! Oh dear, we've left him at that restaurant."

"Let's go find him then. First thing's first, we need to find a way off this roof _…"_


	8. Insistent Hand-Holding

It seemed like getting away from the scene of the crime was the easy part. Now disoriented and lost in Bargain Town, Adrian and Foliga had only each other to rely on, until they found Turby again. Heading straight back to him would be too risky; the two used alternate paths and back alleys, when they could they melted into part of fleeting crowds of pokemon, and whenever the sight of an exploring team seemed too close the Riolu and Chikorita always ducked out of sight.

That only happened a fraction of the time. Between waiting to move forward, Foliga dissected every little aspect of what transpired within the last hour. She did a _really_ good job at making him feel _really_ bad. "Just why were they hurting that 'mon? What did she over do to them? Just what were you thinking, trying to use the blast wand on them like that?"

"What do you mean, that I shouldn't have tried to use the blast wand?" Adrian said back.

"What I mean is that the blast wand wouldn't have done anything anyway. Don't you know that wands only activate inside mystery dungeons?" The quick brown

He gave her an all-knowing look. "I didn't."

"You… oh." She sighed. "Well, now you know for the future. And, those wonder orbs and seeds work the same way. The rule is if you can only find it in a dungeon, then it only works in a dungeon." They stopped to catch up in another small plaza, off the big road that still trickled water.. Now It was up to the Chikorita's nails and his own toes. In the heat of the day, the water would have worked to cool anyone off, any hotter and it would surely be evaporating.

Adrian laughed a little bit, smiling to himself. "Just what were _you_ thinking, collapsing the water tower onto those guys?"

But instead of finding it humorous, Foliga stopped, long enough for the water to still, and looked deep at her reflection. "I… I didn't think it would end up like this. I-I was just thinking in the moment, and…"

"Oh cheer up, Foliga! I mean, we were only acting in self-defence. Anyone there could've seen that." _Guilt._ It was the mellow, lukewarm kind that settled deep in the wet stones, getting caught in the Riolu's fur, weighing him down. Adrian just wanted to wade out of it. "Look, the kids are going to have lots of fun playing in the street today!"

"Don't you see? There's no way anyone will believe that was an accident. Those two on the roof were an exploration team. They're going to say whatever they want, and 'mon will take their word over ours, no doubt."

"The Pyroar knows the truth," Adrian said pointedly, "and the Mystics will listen to us. Quit worrying about it!"

Another group of pokemon rounded the alley, and the two knew it was time to leave. Even though they explored what felt like for hours, they were still seeing the same type of architecture, sometimes the very same buildings, all evidence that they were still in the same district. Those who stayed on the main road were of two varieties; ones who lost something in the flood woefully stared onwards whereas the others were simply bystanders gasping in amazement. Adrian and Foliga belonged to neither of these groups and stayed out of everyone's way.

"Someone's surely seen us by now," rambled Foliga. "We weren't exactly invisible when it happened. They'll know which 'mon they're looking for!"

He pulled the Chikorita with him behind strewn garbage when another exploring team stopped another group of residents. Too far away to actually hear what they said, Adrian assumed the pokemon from the expedition society were gathering more information about the incident. Questions about whereabouts, the neighborhood, about any suspicious activity. _They can't know it was us. That's just Foliga's idea. I-I'm letting it get to me._

Peeking behind the disposable crate, Adrian caught a better look at the exploring team. They were not the Machop and Golem from earlier, but somehow the pokemon looked way worse. Headed by a Kommo-o leading a Tranquill and Gligar, they looked past the street, gazing at something that was not in front of them.

 _Wait… w-were they looking at us?!_ His breathing hitched, grasping onto Foliga a little tighter. Suddenly the trash was feeling itchy like leaves, and he was back at the edge of the highway, hiding from the Mystics. _What is with these teams always knowing where we are!?_

Foliga shut her eyes just like him, as both their last line to hide themselves. They both were waiting for the debris to unveil them, to be inevitably caught by the exploring team, and this time there was no chance to run away anywhere.

What they were _not_ expecting was a chipper young voice to call them out right above their heads. "What are you doing?"

"AAAAAHHH!"

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8: Insistent Hand-Holding**_

* * *

The two were led by Turby back to the establishment called the _Exploring Pains_. It took a long and embarrassing while before the Inkay stopped his chirping-like laughter, and no sooner afterwards could he address Adrian and Foliga, who awkwardly sat at a table waiting for him to finish. "Really, I didn't mean to scare you guys at all!" Turby insisted. "I was just really relieved to have found you! But when I thought about it, well, the rest is history." After another quick giggle, his gaze suddenly turned intense. "So. Why did you leave the restaurant?"

Foliga squirmed where she sat. "W-Well, we—"

"We weren't feeling too good, so we just went for a quick walk," Adrian said quickly. But even then Turby kept an inquisitive eye on them, swapping between the two. He racked his mind to elaborate. "Both of us are still getting used to the town. And by the time we noticed, we were a bit lost…"

Even then the Inkay was not buying it. The Riolu blinked rapidly, letting his voice trail off into silence. Anything more and he would just sound suspicious or desperate. He was narrowing his search onto Foliga. Adrian could feel the grass-type withering under the spotlight.

Turby pushed farther into her space. "Is that what happened, Foliga? Did you go on a little stroll?"

"It's just like I said! You can't take my word for it?" _Come on, Foliga, now's the time to pull through._

She found the energy to raise her face to meet his. "…Sorry, Turby. It was my idea to leave. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"Oh! Please, I don't feel bad at all! I remember how overwhelming this town was when I first came here." As quick as he was to accuse them, now he was placing his tentacles comfortingly around Foliga for a hug. "No reason to worry on my behalf. The only thing worth weeping over was those refreshments I ordered."

Adrian looked around at the other tables and sitting pokemon. "Like, drinks? Where are they?"

"They don't taste the same when they sit out too long, so when I couldn't find you— well, that's beside the point! What do you guys want to eat now?"

"If it's all the same to you," Foliga said, "I think it's best about time we continue towards the expedition society headquarters."

"Are you sure? It wouldn't be much trouble if we—"

Adrian groaned. "Yes! We're both sure! Let's just get outta here!"

"Sounds like a plan." After settling the invoice from the restaurant, Turby led them further into the town. Having a pokemon by his side with both an exploring badge and a sense of direction strengthened Adrian's alibi and he did not feel the pressure moving through the streets. The worst part was that Turby was awkward about it at best, constantly trying to talk to them about the tiniest thing they passed.

Actually, it seemed like exploring teams were _purposefully_ ignoring them. Crowds were sparse since the incident, eliminating the notion that no one was noticing them. There was already groups of pokemon collaborating on the mess outside the building where the water tower collapsed. A group of Machoke and Gurdurr already began preparations for a new tower where the last one stood.

"I heard the emergency report that the tower broke not moments after I noticed you guys gone. And when that flood came down the streets, I looked around there thinking you were ones swept up in it! Thank goodness it didn't."

"Indeed," Foliga said tersely, "also, and I don't mean to be crass, but is there any faster way to your base we can take?"

"You guys really want to just see the headquarters, huh? And I've just been getting in the way… I must look like a real doofus."

Adrian was already rolling his eyes. _Oh great, I think we're gonna make him cry._

"I know, I know…" Turby sucked in a breath. "It's just that the Bargain Town Expedition Society is really picking up, and Zio wants us to do as many jobs as physically possible. I can't remember the last time I got to walk around town like this. Away from the other two, I mean. Without any pressing jobs."

"Why don't you just quit?" Adrian asked.

"Quit?" Turby gasped like it was the worst things he ever heard. "I couldn't leave Zio and Glam to struggle as a two-person team! Besides," he giggled, "there'd be too many contractual stuff with the expedition society to sign."

The human-turned-Riolu frowned. "Oh, come on. A bunch of pokemon couldn't have made it that complicated— hmm?" Foliga had nudged into his side, and when he looked to her, the _glare_ she gave him was enough to shut him up. _Well, I didn't hear anything from you to make him quit!_

"Maybe after my business," she said to Turby, "you could show us more around Bargain Town? I'd be interested in that."

"That'd be great! But I don't know what Zio or Glam will think."

"Just say you need us for a mission or something," Adrian suggested.

"And it's only _maybe_. We still got to get to the expedition society."

"Then no more dilly-dally!"

With that promise made Turby had more reason than ever to fly ahead, and suddenly Adrian and Foliga were the ones that struggled to keep up. He fell into place at her side to whisper so the Inkay did not hear. "You know, you could've moved in a long time before, and we'd already be halfway out of here."

"So I realize now," she replied without looking at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Adrian, please just let me do the talking from here on out."

 _Not fighting you for that one._ And so it stayed that way. Foliga was the one entertaining the Inkay with conversation while Adrian could look around. They were far away from the water damage, and Bargain Town resumed being as dense as ever with pokemon. Colored signs of shops lured foot traffic like him inside. A tiny Purrloin mewed loudly for its lost mother. A Baltoy and Bronzor rested together on a ledge. A Nidorina argued loudly with a Nidoqueen. Adrian was happy to see that, in the grand scheme of the town, the destruction did not affect everything.

The wide pantheon-like building with the glass dome ended up belonging the official Bargain Town Expedition Society. It looked _gargantuan_ when at its doorsteps as it dwarfed the rival buildings by ten stories. Each of its supporting pillars were built with boulders stacked on top of each other, resembling a dozen Onyx.

Dozens of curious pokemon were amassing at the bottom steps, and more pokemon that worked at the expedition society formed a secure perimeter to keep anyone from interfering. Turby began to push through the crowd and used the authority of his exploring badge to pass the blockade. Adrian and Foliga held close together when they were stopped. "They're okay, those two are with me— Glam, Zio, is that you?"

True enough, the other two members of the Mystics were there and managing other groups of explorers on what to do next. Even among the voices of pokemon that swarmed around him, Zio the Sebstrika's ears twitched at his partner's voice. " _There_ you are. I remember telling to report back to the base immediately."

"I totally was!" Turby insisted.

"You were off galavanting through town. When I needed your help, I expected you to be here, and you weren't."

"Well, if you really needed me that bad, you should've just called me! That's what these badges are for, you know!"

" _Okay_ , Zio." Glamorous the Glameow walked over and placed a forepaw on the electric-type's side. "He's still new to warrant work. We've handled ourselves pretty good before. This so far has been no different than that one Dragonite salesman."

He chuckled at the memory. "Heh. You said to him you didn't want to see his squashy fruits." That had gotten the normal-type to start laughing too.

"C'mon, you guys! I wasn't there! Quit with the in-jokes!"

Ignoring him Glamorous said, "I've stalled the normal and bronze ranks long enough. You go back there and tell them what comes next."

He took a long breath out, eyeing the Inkay tiredly one more time. "Yeah." Then he trotted back to speak with the other pokemon.

Glamorous turned to address them. She appeared no better and than Zio, and really deserved as much right to be as accusatory as him. It could have been easy to let it slip in front of the kids, but she did do a better job at not imposing it on them. Probably thanks to her time spent once on a stage—

The human-turned-Riolu strained his mind. He told it to _stop_. _No, I'm doing it again! No more of whatever this is supposed to be._

"Yeah, that call we got near the east gate, it really snowballed," the Glameow explained. "Turns out that a whole bunch of outlaws were using the east gate. More on that later for you, Turby. And by the way, we did actually try to call you through the exploring badge. But everyone's got their heels on fire with that whole water tower business…"

Foliga looked innocently enough at her feet.

"Things were getting too big for us and the exploring teams on sight, so we took the front burner back here. Almost got a hold of Her Grace too, but she's busy with something else. So we're in charge of this right now. Anyways, Zio's turning into a fire-type because we had to involve way more teams than he thought was necessary."

"Oh…" Turby said glumly. "I really am sorry, Glam."

"Don't apologize to me, Zio's the one angry about the whole thing."

He waved to gesture towards all three of them now. "I got them both here to the base, so what should I do now?"

The bystanders, pokemon with nothing better to do than to watch, were growing both in numbers and volume. More pokemon from the expedition society had come out of their base to pacify them. _One of us is gonna get trampled if we have to help out here,_ Adrian thought, beginning to frown.

The Glameow took a forepaw and shuffled it across the stones. "You can't do much out here. Just… just take the two inside, and find a place to wait for me and Zio to figure out what comes next. You know where you are and aren't allowed to take them."

"Okay, I'll do that!" He lit up the beacons on his head, and pulled each of them up the stairs with him. "Foliga! Adrian! Next stop is—"

"Ah, don't!" Glamorous called out one more time. "Not that way. Use the other entrance around back."

Turby tilted his head. "You want me to take them through the kitchens?"

"The _other_ entrance."

"Ooh! I got you now." Turby jerked both of them to follow suit as they headed _away_ from the Bargain Town Expedition Society.

Brushing up against Glamorous one more time she stole a quick second away from the crowds to wink at them. "You'll see me and Zio later, don't worry. Keep looking after Turby for us!"

Adrian looked in time to see Foliga's priceless reaction. Her face twisted into something sour.

Now away from the crowd, the trio made their was another block away from the base. The crowd was barely audible when Turby made them turn into a seemingly inconspicuous alley. But at the far end of it was a wooden door on it's last hinge left open a crack. "I can't believe this," Turby griped aloud. "The newer teams totally don't deserve to use this way when they're so careless!"

Since Turby made sure to properly lock the door behind them, it cut the flow of fresh air, and the Riolu's short snout flared at the reek of mold and mildew. Past that was the brief moment where Adrian was suspended in darkness, as if it alone was able to slow his movement. Suddenly, he could feel the dirt that clung to his still new Riolu form. He could taste the ash that dried his throat. Suddenly, Adrian was back inside the meteorite

"Ugh! Eww!" Even through his caution, he stepped in grime that got caught between his toes, audibly shuddering when he pulled his foot away. _This isn't that canyon, I'm not there anymore… but why do we need to go through a sewer, of all places!?_ Foliga did not seem to mind as him, or even catch on. Past from a glance to him the Chikorita continued to walk through unburdened by the murk. And the Inkay did not need to worry as he floated ahead of them and used the glow of his head-lights to lead the way.

After even more twists and turns, the underground passageway became dry and noticeably cleaner, with periodically placed torched that provided light far better than Turby could. The ceiling and walls were constructed with laden brick to section off tinier rooms and halls, each left intentionally without light. "Are we anywhere close to your base yet?" Adrian asked.

"Yep," Turby said, "We just need to pass through the catacombs, and then it's the underground levels!"

"Wait— catacombs? You can't mean those places where..?" He turned expectantly to Foliga for an answer, but even she looked at Turby to hear what he had to say.

The Inkay in question pointed to each of the rooms that were left intentionally without light. "Everyone's allowed to use the catacombs. Typically, the residents of Bargain Town like to sort them into different areas on body type. The expedition society asks for permission to place the ones that nearer to the base, and gives them plaques."

"But none of them are fresh, right?"

"Sorry, but I'm still a bit lost here," Foliga interjected, "what do Bargain Town residents put down here?"

"Bones!" Turby replied excitedly. "Lots and lots of 'em, at least a century's worth! And of course pokemon clean them, Adrian. Not that I've had to do any. I told you guys I did my research on Bargain Town, but I wasn't that thorough! You guys didn't have catacombs where you're from?"

"I don't think so." He really did try to put it into perspective. In those rooms off to the side had, apparently, _thousands_ of bones. Of _dead_ pokemon. The human-turned-Riolu was certainly not ready to confront something like the mortality of his new form. Meanwhile, Foliga did not seem to shiver aback as he did, though. As if the information had nothing to do with her.

Eventually the corridor ended, replaced by a long winding staircase to take them back up. Each step was long and wide enough to let most types of pokemon use them as the three could stand on the same one at once. Even more torches lined the wall to leave no corner too dark to see. Voices rumbled from behind every wall, even the ceiling above. "Here we are! Welcome to the Bargain Town Expedition Society. Well, the dungeons at least— and not _that_ kind of dungeon."

Doors that they passed had been marked by plaques for whichever teams were living inside. Adrian excitedly read the names of the ones that stuck out to him. _The Dare, the Backburner, the Thorns… are these names assigned, or did each team pick them out for themselves?_

Behind one set of heavy doors was a gigantic room with haybeds. Some pokemon were already lounging tiredly in one or pulled them together in circles to chat. The only privacy whoever the beds belonged to was the half-walls that separated them into stalls. "These are the barracks," explained Turby. "The entry level teams sleep here until they rank up. I know it doesn't look like a perfect place, but it's the best solution to house all the new explorers we were getting."

He grimaced. That meant _they_ would have to stay there. _Where are we going to put our belongings? Hide them in the hay? How am I going to remember which haybed is mine?_

Foliga on the other hand smiled. "Oh, I can't imagine it being that bad. Like a sleepover! Did the Mystics have to stay here too once?"

"Ehh, I don't know for sure. But probably!" He hesitated to say more, suddenly turning bashful. "Well, I didn't. Zio and Glam recruited me while in Gold, but now we're in Diamond…"

"Diamond? Gold?" Adrian repeated curiously.

"Those are ranks! Everyone starts at Bronze, then it's Silver, Gold— you'll see what I mean later. Onward with the tour!"

Then another set of big staircases brought the three to the greeting hall of the expedition society, built tall and long like a cathedral. The acoustics and polished granite allowed the voices of the few pokemon there to be carried throughout the hall. Balconies along the sides had rows upon rows of books, and inviting seating to read them at. At the ceiling was the clear dome of glass that defined the building even from the outskirts of town. In his mind, Adrian could imagine how someone would scramble around the giant hall to sit wherever the sun happened to shine that hour.

Turby lead Adrian and Foliga up even more stairs. Despite the outside being as elegant as the inside, the layout told Adrian that is was a fortress; each room looked identical to the last, confusing anyone that did not walk them every single day. The silky translucent curtains from the occasional opened window swept across the halls from a breeze that ventilated the inside. The biggest stained glass were posed at the end of one room with the biggest door Adrian had ever seen. In comparison he felt like a speck against the decorum and encrusted gemstones that detailed the door—

"Don't touch that!" Turby shrieked, causing Adrian to pull his paw away. "That's her Grace's personal study! Absolutely no one should be in there."

He returned a dubious look. "I'm not even allowed to touch the door?"

Foliga admired the door from a safe distance. "Well, I'm sure strict bosses like that impose these types of rules for a good reason."

"Please don't get me wrong, she's very kind," Turby reasoned, "we'll get the chance to see her soon, so maybe you will get to see for yourself."

Not far from there was another decorated door, though not nearly as big. The dark-psychic-type welcomed them into the chamber. It had an entire window big enough to overlook the main entrance of the base and into Bargain Belt. Carpets covered the floor were neatly kept and the tapestries that occasionally lined the walls looked just as good. Instead of haybeds like in the barracks, the loft had exactly three mattresses where each looked personally designed in different colors and design. Dressers and Cabinets lined another wall that occasionally had the ends of fabrics sticking out to keep them from shutting all the way. Every drapes, rugs, and bedsheets looked recently ironed.

Adrian helped himself and flopped onto the biggest bed there. _Soft_ , and so deep that it engulfed his body. Far better than the leaves the night before. He rolled around and dug his face into the pillows. Already he could imagine himself like Turby, coming home here, tossing his exploring badge and bag onto a rack, and falling fast asleep in the warm chamber. "Is this were me and Foliga are sleeping?"

Turby's eyes widened at the proposition. "Oh, that— I don't think that's for me to decide. You might have to ask Zio if you wanted to stay here with us. But I could ask the maids to fetch you bedding..?"

"You get maids here?!"

"Well, it helps when we're the only ace ranks at this base."

Foliga pressed her face into the glass of the window. "But you probably don't get many chances to just lie about. Not when you're doing missions for your Grace."

"Exactly! But all of this just pales in comparison, though, to the cool gadgets you get to use."

"Like the exploring badges?" Adrian said excitedly.

"Better than those. Follow me, and I'll show you."

Outside the room and down another series of unmappable turns, the last intersection they were brought to was dedicated to a giant podium that had cables and wires running out into the walls. It was lined with more buttons and knobs that Turby fiddled with when reaching them that booted up in response to the activity. "This is the Nexus. It helps keep track of information for us and our sister base. Although, they have an unruly habit of breaking theirs. It's a pain whenever they have to reboot it with ours…"

With a sudden spark, They climbed up and around a central point suspended in the middle of the air before coming together to form a translucent globe. Suddenly the entire room was overtaken by the giant light, making it clear why such a large room needed so much space for the small podium. The stand emitted a low hum as the hologram of the world slowly spun.

"So, what do you guys think?" asked Turby.

The light of the nexus twinkled in Adrian's eyes. Where he stood and the rest of the town was just a tiny flag in the middle of a huge continent. Past that, a sprawling flat blue to show the ocean. And there were even more continents, some way bigger than his with tiny flags of their own. _Let's do this._ "Turby, do whatever you need to do for registration. I'm going to begin an exploration team!"

The Inkay gasped. "Really and truly?"

Foliga shot her eyes at him in the instant he asked, but turned politely to Turby. "That's not what we came to—"

"Foliga, the expedition society is perfect! We can stay here, do missions for them, see more of the town, and they'll take care of the details so we don't have to!"

"Sure, but we can't." She laughed incredulously. "Exploring teams are a serious commitment. We can't just quit when we find what we need."

Turby putzed around them. "So uh, should I find the registry or no?"

"No. Stay here and—"

"Yes! Go!" Adrian forcibly shooed him away before Foliga could protest any more. But he quickly regretted his decision, when he realized that doing so left him alone with her. The Riolu threw his paws up to his defence. "Can't we I at least make my case."

"Of course we will," she said," but the answer is and always will be no."

"Come on, isn't this why we got the tour in the first place, why we've been getting an escort throughout the entire town?"

"That's not what's been happening. I promised the Mystics to show us to the powers that be and share vital information with them, nothing more."

"We can still do that," he said back, "then we can start an exploration team afterwards."

Her stare rivaled his, and he knew she was desperately looking for a new angle as he was. "You know, that exploration team from the alley work here too. We'll eventually run into them if we don't in town somewhere before."

"It doesn't matter where it happens to me, I welcome it even!" He crossed his arms. Did Adrian actually need something like _permission_ in the first place? "If you won't do it, then I'll make a team on my own. Or join the Mystics!"

"You can't!" Since being left alone with each other both were careful to not raise their voices above a loud hissing, as everything was carried down each corridor, but as they progressed it could no longer be helped.

Suddenly, Foliga's face dropped. She intently switched between something happening behind him and on Adrian himself. "They're here," she whispered.

Slowly, Adrian turned his head—

"No, don't look around. I don't think they've noticed us yet. But it's _them_. It's the, uh…"

"The big one is a Golem, smaller one is a Machop. What are they doing?"

"Just talking and walking together… they shouldn't do anything if someone else is here to see them. Let's go find Turby."

But if no one was there to see them, then it freed the human-turned-Riolu from doing whatever he wanted to the Machop and Golem. Adrian was already mulling over what he would do, opening and closing his hands. He wanted the blast wand to be in one of them. No way was he about to give the pokemon another chance to walk over him. And there was no way he would let them walk away scot-free.

Adrian actually tried to draw out the blast wand from Foliga's exploring bag, but she placed her forearm to cover the rest. In that moment Adrian hesitated. He could easily overpower her, and ignore the weak attempt to stop him. Maybe, it was weak because _she wants to get back at them too_. He did not want to know for sure. And he had to be honest with himself; with the Golem and Machop so close and unaware, he did not think hard about it.

He slid the rest of the blast wand out and walked on the tips of his toes towards the two other pokemon. Foliga hissed at him to stop, but that was drowned out by the pumping anticipation in his head. Adrian stopped twenty paces short of the two pokemon. He wanted a running start.

"Hey! You two!" Adrian called out. As he wanted, both looked up from each other and at him. Their expressions distorted in puzzlement. Adrian delighted in imagining what they were thinking, particularly with the Machop. _Something hopefully along the lines of, 'what's he doing in our base?'_ "Suprise! I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!"

Then before either could say anything Adrian ran for them, aiming for the Machop. With so little warning, and the fact that Adrian was swinging it wildly around his head, the Machop blocked the attack, catching him by the wand's middle and his wrist.

 _BOOM._

Adrian's vision surrendered to red, and his body felt heat and fire wash over him. He and the other fighting-type were blown away from each other, skidding on their backs towards opposite sides of the floor. Their respective partners regrouped, but Foliga hanged over Adrian's head and did not try to help him up. "What is _wrong_ with you?!" she cried.

Adrian pushed her away. He stood up on his own and inspected the scene. But his attention was not on the Machop in his respective corner, but the smoke that filled the expedition society.

It was coming from the Nexus. The beautiful globe projection has given up, and a loud beeping sharply announced that it was destroyed. Its stand, as well as the panel Turby had used to activate the thing was blinking uncontrollably with sparks shooting out of its damaged framework. Nexus gave off one last low, sad sound, before the lights and beeping stopped.

The four pokemon ignored each other and watched to watch the Nexus' final moments. "Uh-oh," Adrian said.


End file.
